Dhaka: It took a Muslim YouTuber from Dhaka to settle the oldest debate on Durga Puja’s origin story. The irony is not lost on Salahuddin Sumon. With 1.63 million subscribers, he’s Bangladesh’s most-watched chronicler of the country’s lore.
Untangling the Durga Puja mystery was a quest that fed his fascination for Bangladesh’s Hindu religious history — despite the initial missteps and death threats. And every year, like clockwork, Bengali Hindus on both sides of the border resurrect this debate during the festive season.
Sumon has concluded that the first Durga Puja probably took place in Satya Yuga, the first of the four ages in the Hindu yuga cycle, at Medosh Munir Ashram, a Hindu temple that rests on top of a hill in Bangladesh’s Boalkhali upazila.
“No one has come forward to prove me wrong,” he says, nursing a fresh lime soda at the busy Coffee Buzz cafe in Dhaka.
His nearly 45-minute-long video published on 12 October 2021 has received over 4,71,533 views. And many of his viewers are Bengali-speaking Indians who have a fascination for Bangladesh.
“In fact, Bengali Hindu viewers thank me every year in the comments section for taking them to the origin story of their biggest festival. They want to know more about the country’s history, heritage, and culture,” he says, choosing to ignore fundamentalist haters.
I am not (moving away from Islam). I am a practising Muslim. But I am also fascinated by the Hindu history of Bangladesh
—Salahuddin Sumon, Bangladeshi YouTuber
The former journalist has published at least 20 videos on temples and many more on Hindu heritage sites in Bangladesh. He has documented the Puthia Temple Complex in Rajshahi district, travelled to Orakandi in Gopalganj district to meet the Matua community that has formed a separate sect, and shot the forgotten havelis of erstwhile Hindu zamindars at Kolakopa village, an hour away from Dhaka.
He’s even travelled to Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu, and Kolkata—documenting the states, their places of worship, cuisine, and local culture. In Tamil Nadu, he took his viewers to the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai and the architecture of Mahabalipuram, while in Kolkata, he celebrated Eid.
The comments sections under his videos on Hindu religious history or heritage are telling. There’s a barrage of abuses and accusations that he’s moving away from Islam.
“I am not. I am a practising Muslim. But I am also fascinated by the Hindu history of Bangladesh,” he says.
Correcting wrong perceptions
Sumon’s first attempt to solve the puzzle of the first Durga Puja was a lesson in fact-checking and confirmation bias. He got it wrong.
On 15 August 2020, Sumon had put out a video saying the first Durga Puja was conducted at the temple King Kangsa Narayan built in Rajshahi’s Bagmara upazila. At the time, Sumon was convinced that he was right.
He knew the area well, having studied at Rajshahi University and even worked in the district as a journalist.
“Everyone in the district and even outside knew that the temple King Kangsa Narayan built in 1480 AD was where the first Durga Puja took place,” says Sumon.
Articles in local newspapers further cemented this view. There were many stories about how the temple was of great historical significance because it was the site of the first Durga Puja. Even The Daily Observer published an article on 9 October 2021 titled, ‘King Kangs Narayan promoter of Durga Puja in Rajshahi’.
I have been asked often why I am obsessed with Hindu temples. The answer is my love for history. The story of Bangladesh’s temples fascinates me. And I will continue to dig up the past
—Salahuddin Sumon, Bangladeshi YouTuber
“Raja Kangs Narayan Ray Bahadur had established it in 1480 AD (887 BS). He had built the temple to protect himself from the evil influence of demons. Later, it became the universal Durga Puja in the subcontinent….During Kali Puja, King Kangs Narayan would organise [the] festival in [a] modern way,” The Daily Observer wrote.
Sumon thought he was on the right path when he published the video tracing the history of Kangsa’s temple. The response was swift. Many commentators from India and Bangladesh told him that the first Durga Puja happened at Medosh Munir Ashram.
“In the age of social media, you are constantly being fact-checked. But how can one fact-check belief systems?” asks Sumon.
Legend has it that the first puja took place during Satya Yug. “One cannot ascertain the year from a time so far back. For instance, what was the time period of Satya Yug? Can you ascertain it through the Gregorian calendar?”
And so, he decided to travel to Medosh Munir Ashram.
The ashram at Boalkhali
Sumon and his crew took the tiny rail bridge connecting Boalkhali upazila to Chittagong, a large port city on the southeastern coast of Bangladesh. Built in 1931, the Kalurghat bridge was meant for trains, but cars and pedestrians cross it daily, causing long hours of traffic jams.
From there, they hailed an autorickshaw to the hill track at the far end of Boalkhali. And then they climbed a long flight of stairs to the top of the hill where the ashram stands.
Destroyed during the 1971 Bangladesh War, this ashram was once again built brick by brick on top of this hill to bring Medhash Munir’s devotees back and keep his legend alive.
Sumon was not the first to have reported on it.
On 23 October 2015, The Daily Star wrote an evocative piece on how the ashram in Boalkhali will not offer a visitor innovatively themed mandaps gleaming under LED lights and the other “usual puja extravaganzas”.
“However, it is unique for the age-old history that it owns… Most importantly, the Hindus in Bangladesh revere this place because of the legend that claims the area to be the origin of Bashanti Puja, the celebration of Durga Puja during spring,” says The Daily Star article.
A year later, when Sumon published the video on his channel, there was no backlash. He takes the accolades as a sign that the debate is settled.
Sumon has concluded that the first Durga Puja probably took place in Satya Yuga, the first of the four ages in the Hindu yuga cycle, at Medosh Munir Ashram, a Hindu temple that rests on top of a hill in Bangladesh’s Boalkhali upazila
“Unlike my video on King Kangsa Narayan’s temple in Rajshahi, this video on Medhus Munir ashram did not get fact-checked. In fact, there are comments thanking me for shooting this video,” says Sumon.
Sagar Sadhu Thakur, secretary of the Matua Mahasangha and a prominent Hindu voice in Bangladesh, praises Sumon for his tenacity and authenticity.
“Salahuddin Sumon takes great pains to shoot videos on Hindu religious history and culture. And his videos are wildly popular here and in India. Who can tell for certain how old the Medhus Munir Ashram is? But lakhs of Bengali Hindus seem to have been satisfied with the video,” he says.
Bangladesh’s syncretic culture
Millions in Bangladesh watch Sumon’s videos, many of who are Muslims. And not all the comments are positive — Sumon gets regular death threats, too.
The hate is in stark contrast to the YouTuber’s childhood recollections of a more united culture.
“It may seem strange to you, but in the dusty village I was born in, Pushinda in Adamdighi upazila of Bogra zilla, we grew up as one,” he says.
His school friends were both Hindus and Muslims, and at home, his parents did not make any distinction.
“Not just Hindus, we were taught to embrace Buddhists, Christians and people of all other faiths,” he says.
It’s this syncretic culture that Sumon wants to popularise through his videos. His love for history and his country compels him to seek out stories of Hinduism in Bangladesh.
“I have been asked often why I am obsessed with Hindu temples. The answer is my love for history. The story of Bangladesh’s temples fascinates me. And I will continue to dig up the past,” he adds.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)