Kalibabur Bari
Kali Babur Bari is located in Janai, Hoogly, West Bengal.
Origin of the Kali Babu's (Maharaja Kaliprasad Mukhopadhayay's) family
According to the information available in the "Malebandhan" Pustika, Maharaja Adisur From Kanauj brought with him five most renowned Brahmins among which the most famous was Gangananda who was a disciple of Shri Harsha and it is during this period that Debibar Ghatak created "Malebandhan" and added Upadhyay as the surname, which later modified into Mukhopadhyay or Mukherjee.As such Gangananda Bhattacharya Upadhayay was the 1st man in the famous family of Janai.The two reasons for the popularity of Janai village includes: 1. A sweet named "Monohara" that is famous in all over Bengal, and 2. The story of assessts, grandeur and kindness of the royal family of Janai.
"Monohora", the sweet which literally in Bengali means one who steals the heart till date continues to be a favourite among sweet lovers. Unlike other sweetmeats, the genesis of this fascinating sweet remains unknown still one of the legends associated with Monohora biography is that one of the Moiras from Moira para was entrusted by a member of the royal family of Janai to prepare a sweetmeat. The zamindar left for some work and returned behind his scheduled arrival. The Moira was worried that the sandesh would go bad. He coated a lump of Sandesh in a thick sugar syrup so that the sandesh would not go bad. When the zamindar returned, he tasted the sweet and remarked that the sweet has stolen his heart and hence the name Monohora.
Maharaja Kaliprasad Mukhopadhayay
In 1834, Maharaja Kaliprasad Mukhopadhayay, a Dewan of the East India Company build the Janai Palace near the bank of Saraswati River, on a cremation ground along with a gigantic "Thakur Dalaan" with seven arches and representing Indo-Catholic architecture, aimed for Durga Puja offerings and henceforth started the most magnificent Durga Puja of the village. On one side of the palace there still exists two temples dedicated in the name of Lord Shiva. Maharaja Kaliprasad Mukhopadhayay earned his reputation in the society by propagating and participating in nationwide religious activities. Kaliprasad was married to Smt. Pitambari Devi of Hoogly and had three sons: Durga Charan, Abhaya Charan, Gouri Charan.Descendants of Maharaja Kaliprasad Mukhopadhayay
1. 'Late Shri Durga Charan Mukhopadhyay2. Late Babu Purna Chandra Mukhopadhyay
3. Late Babu Bhutnath Mukherjee'
Sambhunath and Gayatri left five sons: Somnath, Sundarnath, Suronath, Satinath and Sibapada as successors along with two daughters Sree and Indrani who were married to other renowned families of West Bengal. The 7th Generation of Maharaja Kaliprasad Mukherjee comprises 4 sons Subhendu, Sougata, Sohan, Samrat and three daughters—Suvosree, Surosree and Debasree altogether.
Kalibabur Bari's Durga Puja at Janai is one of the oldest pujas in West Bengal. The specialty of the puja can be mentioned as Aparajita puja and Beranjali on the day of Dashami. This puja of a renowned aristocratic zamindar family formerly started at the reign of East India Company. The former zamindar Ishwar Kaliprasad Mukhopadhyay who initiated the puja was the diwan of East India Company. From that time till today the puja is continuing its grandeur and pomp.