A narrow lane in Malda, once built as a brothel to safeguard society from the unchecked appetites of traders, is today scripting a very different story. Hansgiri Lane, founded 225 years ago at the initiative of Zamindar Hans Narayan Giri, is this year hosting a Durga Puja that intertwines centuries of history, cultural memory, and the resilience of sex workers.
What began as a pragmatic social compromise in the late 18th century — to protect vulnerable women from exploitation while ensuring the city’s mercantile rhythm continued undisturbed — has, over two centuries, transformed into a neighbourhood with its own distinct cultural voice. On the eve of this year’s festivities, the brothel-turned-locality is celebrating not only the arrival of Durga but also the 225th anniversary of its existence and the historic visit of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to Malda in 1515.
For decades, the Durga Puja of Hansgiri Lane remained deserted. Stigma and prejudice cast long shadows: visitors shunned the pandal simply because sex workers had organised it.
“No matter how big the puja, people would not come. We were untouchables to them,” recalls Sonia (name changed), a sex worker who entered the trade at 14.
The tide began to shift when the youth of the neighbourhood embraced theme-based pujas. Slowly, the pandal became a canvas for Malda’s cultural memory: mangoes, masks, Gambhira folk theatre — and now the sacred arrival of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Today, Hansgiri Lane’s Puja draws throngs of visitors, wins awards like the state government’s ‘Sharad Samman’, and commands a respect that was once unthinkable.
“Society is not what it used to be. Our children are going to school. People are flocking to see our puja. That is all we wanted,” Sonia says, her voice wavering yet firm.
This year’s theme: Chaitanya’s arrival in Malda
The 2025 puja pays homage to Ramkeli, where Chaitanya Mahaprabhu initiated Rup and Sanatan Goswami — once royal servants under Nawab Hussain Shah — into Gaudiya Vaishnavism. The pavilion recreates the Firoz Minar of Gaur, statues of Chaitanya, models of the Goswamis, kirtan halls, and Vaishnavite musicians, their echoes carried through the crafted ‘khol’ and ‘kartal’ overhead. Jagannath idols from Odisha and scenes from Ramkeli’s history complete the tableau.
“Our puja is not just ritual — it is heritage activism,” says theme-maker Kallol Majumdar.
“We are also raising the demand that the Ramkeli Mela be granted heritage status.”
The budget is modest at Rs 5 lakh, but the ambition is vast. Clothes distribution, ‘Naranarayana Seva’, a blood donation camp, a health clinic, and even a cultural evening by Komal Gandhar, a third-gender group, are part of the itinerary.
What makes Hansgiri Lane’s puja stand apart is not just artistry but symbolism. Soil from a sex worker’s doorstep is traditionally needed to complete Durga’s idol. Yet, the women whose homes provided that sacred earth were long ostracised.
Now, the women themselves stand at the centre of the celebration. Sex workers will donate blood for the health camp — a gesture that speaks volumes of inclusion and dignity.
“No profession is small now. Everyone has the right to walk with their heads held high,” Sonia declares, echoed by her peers.
History’s long arc:
From Mughal silk caravans sailing down the Mahananda, to Portuguese trading posts, to British indigo warehouses, Malda’s mercantile past left behind both prosperity and fractures. Hans Narayan Giri’s controversial solution — institutionalising a brothel to shield women — was at once pragmatic and tragic. Today, Hansgiri Lane acknowledges that paradox with candour, but also with pride in how far its women have come.
The Puja’s inauguration itself marks a change — this year, it will not be a politician or local notable, but Visakha Laskar, state secretary of sex workers’ platform Durbar Mahila Samadhi Committee, who will light the ceremonial lamp.
As visitors step into Hansgiri Lane’s pandal this Puja, they will walk past the recreated monuments of Gaur and into a history that is equal parts sacred, contested, and reclaimed. Here, Durga is not only the demon-slayer but also a symbol of women who fought centuries of stigma to assert their right to exist with dignity.
From brothel to beacon, Hansgiri Lane’s journey is a reminder that history is rarely neat — but it can be redeemed.
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