Photos

The neighbourhood of Kumartuli is well known for its traditional image-makers and potters (kumors). Kolkata celebrates the Durga Puja over a period of four to five days when the city is inundated with crowds of merry-makers out to visit the different places where the Puja festivals are held. The potters, who are traditionally skilled at making earthenware and clay images, are commissioned with the largest amount of orders for making the clay idols of goddess Durga slaying the demon, Mahisasura, a battle representing the triumph of good over evil, and her four children.

The scene at Kumartoli a month before the Pujas in September or October, is that of a huge studio with people busy in making the larger than life clay images. Fascinated by this annual event engaging an entire neighbourhood of skilled artisans, many photographers often visit the area to record the event. At various stages of image-making, one can observe how clay is used over bamboo and hay structures supporting the body of a statue, how they are then left to solidify and in the end coloured with layers of white paint, followed by more natural colours, and finally dressed in real clothes to look like the gods and goddesses they are supposed to represent. The climax of the image-making project involves the final touch known as the "Chokkhu Daan"(Gift of the Eyes), a ceremony in which a senior artisan paints the eyes of the goddess to bring her to "life".