Kolkata, the city of joy, is famous for its soulful embodiment of culture, fun, festivities, mystery, love, enthusiasm and some amazing sweet delicacies. The city welcomes a visitor with Ganga ghats, mouth-watering food, and so on.
Kolkata has a rich history, not only because of British Colonizers’ dominance but also for several unheard stories, which only locals are aware of. Some stories are creepy and have a link with spirit entities as they say. Putul Bari or House of Dolls is one of a kind that has been spooking for years with unusual sounds, rare events and glimpses of something that is surely not an earthly being. This indicates that the House of Dolls is haunted as per the locals’ narrative.
Located on the banks of Hooghly River in Shobhabazar, North Kolkata, Putul Bari is a famous sprawling house. During the 20th century, when the Hooghly River became conducive to facilitate trade activities, ships to other parts of India and overseas, carrying goods like spices, silk, jute etc. The ships would halt at the Ahiritola and Shobhabazar jetty. When the goods got unloaded, these were preserved at the huge warehouses erected along the Strand Road. One of the warehouses cum mansions was Putul Bari, popular for its classical statues, the magnificent structure of faces and people which are visible from the top of the building (therefore, it was named Putul Bari or Doll House). The last or topmost floor of the building was used by the owner as his residence and the rest of it as a warehouse.
But how and why did such a beautiful and aristocratic building, that was featured by Roland Joffe in his ‘City of Joy’, became a warehouse? Let’s find out.
Gloomy Past of Putul Bari
It is believed that once upon a time when Putul Bari was ruled by the owners or affluent babus, who lived in the house and took full advantage of their power. They raped young women and murdered them at this place to conceal their misdeeds. Consequently, the place became haunted by the tormented souls of women.
As acknowledged by the locals, the owner who lived on the topmost floor of the building had a beautiful daughter who was fascinated by dolls. Her obsession reached such a drastic peak that she soon covered the entire house with several dolls of every shape and hue. Then a mishap took place, resulting in her death and the mansion became haunted. On a moonless night, the rooftop of the house looks scary at a glance due to the presence of unique doll-like objects.
The Other Side of the Story
As the adventurous visitors or curious trespassers tried to make an entry, the poor tenants of the house who lived there put up a signboard indicating that ‘this place has no ghosts’ to ban the entry of such uninvited guests.
However, the truth is quite different. The adored dolls of the daughter are believed to remain in the house, but are now worn and torn off and come to life at night and roam around. The spirit of young women, believed to be dancers were murdered and buried inside the house, still dance at the lone rooftop as it is said that the sound of their jewels can be still heard on particular nights.
Rumours also suggest that once a few freedom fighters who tried to hide here, could not make a way out of Putul Bari when British officers fired at them.
However, on the other hand, some locals, who claimed to stay in the house for a night, have said they never experienced any supernatural phenomenon. So, the stories are galore and it is a difficult task to come to a logical conclusion regarding the mysterious events inside the house.
