Photos

It's a dog's life all right, as most artisans in Kumortuli are prone to complain. This is a dingy place in North Calcutta, with labyranthine and utterly filthy lanes and bylanes. The paths are a couple of feet narrow, filled as they are with earthern idols of Hindu gods in various stages of finish, covered with torn plastic sheets. With the major Hindu festivals starting from September onwards, the idols approach their final finish towards July- August, months with teh heaviest rainfall in Calcutta. I am yet to fathom how these dried clay idols survive the rains in near-open conditions.

Each year the artisans complain of the inhuman conditions, of rains washing away their efforts, of how this year they will be hard-pressed to finish the thousands of idols in time. But in Calcutta, the Pujas still go on fine each year! Divine blessings, or plain 'dog'ged luck? You decide. Meanwhile, it continues to be a dog's life at Kumortuli.

Taken with my Fujifilm S8000fd, auto mode, B/W. Fujinon 18x optical, f=4.7-84.2mm