From Vijayanagar to Jabalpur: The Deb Family Saga

During my visit to Kolkata for the 2013 Durga Puja, I became curious about the festival's origins in India. To my surprise, I discovered that the first organized Durga Puja in Kolkata was held in 1757. This inaugural celebration was hosted by Raja Nabokrishno Deb at Shobhabazar Rajbari to commemorate the victory over Siraj-ud-Daulah, the last Nawab of Bengal, with the assistance of the British army led by Lord Clive.

Durga Puja 2013 at Rajbari

Interestingly, my ancestor, Balaram Deb, and Raja Nabokrishno Deb shared a common father, Sri Ramchandra Deb. While visiting the Shobhabazar Rajbari, we encountered an elderly gentleman (seen left) who recounted the historical context of the Puja. He explained that we were Kshatriyas of the Bharadwaj gotra, one of the seven gotras sent eastward from the Vijayanagar Empire around 800 years ago to prevent the conversion of Hindus to Islam.

Rajbari Shobha Bazaar Kolkata

Our ancestors established themselves in West Bengal and became Zamindars of Sutanauti village. In the mid-17th century, the Portuguese established a trading outpost in Sutanuti, followed by the Dutch, who constructed a canal near the present Central Business District. The old Fort William was built in 1696 to protect the English settlement.

Gun carriage Factory Jabalpur

The city gained notoriety in 1756 when Siraj-ud-Daulah captured the fort and, according to British accounts, suffocated 43 British residents in the Black Hole of Calcutta. Robert Clive recaptured the city for the British in 1757. To celebrate this victory, the first community Durga Puja was organized in 1757, with Lord Clive in attendance.

Following this, Balaram Deb relocated from Kolkata to Fatehgarh and was granted land holdings. However, during the 1857 Hindu-Muslim riots, the family moved to Allahabad and later to Jabalpur in 1904 when the British established the Gun Carriage Factory there.

Meditation on 29th October 2024

This morning's meditation was extraordinary. The entire universe vanished. I ceased to exist; there was neither light nor darkness. Absent were both happiness and sorrow. No past or future, no birth or death, no time or space. All was an empty void. External sounds were audible, yet I was not present. The sensation persisted even when I continued meditation in first and ground floor. It was the second instance of such an experience. 

Evening meditation was as usual but deep and long. 

Retrograde Mercury

 This April, during Mercury retrograde, I've encountered a series of unexpected glitches: 

1. An unfortunate jackfruit fall snapped my optical cable, and it's still causing issues even after attempted repairs. 
2. My main electrical line tripped due to a squirrel's cotton stash near the transformer fuse. 
3. To top it off, the display on my AC's main panel has malfunctioned. 

With Mercury retrograde lasting until April 25th 2024, I can't help but wonder what other surprises might be in store.

Accept

I received a message from Boora informing me that his father had passed away on March 17, 2024. Tripti promptly sent a condolence message. I remarked that Boora is quite mature, unlike Rekha, who tends to be emotional.
A few days later, I called Boora. He shared that his father had passed away on the evening of the 17th when he got up with short breathing problems. Thankfully, it was a painless death. However, Boora was emotionally shaken and even broke a photo of Swami in his distress. That same night, Swami appeared in Boora’s dream. Boora confronted Swami, asking why he had come. Swami’s response surprised him: ‘I only want you to accept.’ Astonishingly, the next day, Boora’s depression lifted, akin to the effect of Ignatia.

Bhoo Devi is Tired

Dr. Boora called regarding his clinic software. He has been getting repeated dream of Bhoo Devi, SHE showing how her shoulder is tiered and changing from left to right. There may be massive Earthquack over the Northwest India aftecting Gujarat and Maharastra.

Fear of Dark and Claustrophobia

My elder brother went through AVR on 22nd of June 2023. Next day of operation there was bleeding in the chest, so they reopened it. He had regained consciousness after returning but was paralyzed by muscle relaxant. He was thirsty and asking for water but could not move. He had recurring similar experiences since childhood "trapped under a collapsed building and not able to move. The same fear returned after the operation. Post operative period he was not able to sleep at night due to fear of darkness and claustrophobia. He would open all doors and keep the light on. I was not sure which medicine to use. Chat GPT suggested Aconite and a few other homeopathic medications for fear. Aconite was best since it was used for similar type of experience post anesthesia. After using Aconite 200 for a few days his fear slowly went off and now he can sleep in a closed room.

My first YouTube Interview