Bringing Durga to life

By HT Correspondent

Updated On Oct 15, 2018 11:23 am IST

As the sunshine mellows and the breeze turns deliciously cool, setting aflutter the brightly coloured shamianas put up all over the city, it’s time for Durga puja festivities to begin. It takes magic to create celestial beings from bamboo, straw and clay. Poulami Kundu and lensman Anil Dayal attempt to capture the creative process of idol-making

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An artist gets ready to paint the idols of Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesh and Karik at the Kalibari in Sector 47, Chandigarh. As the sunshine mellows and the breeze turns deliciously cool, setting aflutter the brightly coloured shamianas put up all over the city, it’s time for Durga puja festivities to begin. (Anil Dayal)

Updated on Oct 15, 2018 11:23 am IST

An artist gets ready to paint the idols of Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesh and Karik at the Kalibari in Sector 47, Chandigarh. As the sunshine mellows and the breeze turns deliciously cool, setting aflutter the brightly coloured shamianas put up all over the city, it’s time for Durga puja festivities to begin. (Anil Dayal)

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Idols of the goddess and her offspring have been readied and installed at various pandals all over the city for the auspicious four days of prayers and merrymaking, culminating in Vijayadashami, symbolising Durga’s victory over the demon Mahisasura. It also marks the end of Navratra. (ANIL dayal)

Updated on Oct 15, 2018 11:23 am IST

Idols of the goddess and her offspring have been readied and installed at various pandals all over the city for the auspicious four days of prayers and merrymaking, culminating in Vijayadashami, symbolising Durga’s victory over the demon Mahisasura. It also marks the end of Navratra. (ANIL dayal)

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A frame or base of bamboo is made at first before straw is added to give shape to the idols. For the artists, it has been a long journey, as they have travelled from West Bengal and camped here for months to make the idols. (ANIL dayal)

Updated on Oct 15, 2018 11:23 am IST

A frame or base of bamboo is made at first before straw is added to give shape to the idols. For the artists, it has been a long journey, as they have travelled from West Bengal and camped here for months to make the idols. (ANIL dayal)

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Chandigarh has four workshops where the images are made. These cater, apart from the city, to Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. (ANIL dayal)

Updated on Oct 15, 2018 11:23 am IST

Chandigarh has four workshops where the images are made. These cater, apart from the city, to Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. (ANIL dayal)

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The first idol workshop was set up at Kalibari Temple at Sector 47 in 1979, with the artists who came here initially expanding their business and settling in the city. (ANIL dayal)

Updated on Oct 15, 2018 11:23 am IST

The first idol workshop was set up at Kalibari Temple at Sector 47 in 1979, with the artists who came here initially expanding their business and settling in the city. (ANIL dayal)

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Gopal, an artist the Kalibari workshop, says “Making a Durga idol is a lengthy process. It takes more than a week to complete one. We first make the base for the idol with bamboo and a skeletal structure with straw and rope. Three coats with different types of mud are applied then to give shape to the idols before these are dried in the sun. Then chalk paint mixed with special colours is applied. Finally, the eyes are painted.” (ANIL dayal)

Updated on Oct 15, 2018 11:23 am IST

Gopal, an artist the Kalibari workshop, says “Making a Durga idol is a lengthy process. It takes more than a week to complete one. We first make the base for the idol with bamboo and a skeletal structure with straw and rope. Three coats with different types of mud are applied then to give shape to the idols before these are dried in the sun. Then chalk paint mixed with special colours is applied. Finally, the eyes are painted.” (ANIL dayal)

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Each workshop has 10 to 15 artists. “We come here for the money and are paid Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000 a month depending on hierarchy. It’s my 21st year. I specialise in making the skeletal structure and drawing the eyes,” says Suraj Pramanik, head artist of the Kalibari temple workshop. (ANIL dayal)

Updated on Oct 15, 2018 11:23 am IST

Each workshop has 10 to 15 artists. “We come here for the money and are paid Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000 a month depending on hierarchy. It’s my 21st year. I specialise in making the skeletal structure and drawing the eyes,” says Suraj Pramanik, head artist of the Kalibari temple workshop. (ANIL dayal)

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The collective weight of all the idols of the Durga family is 0.5 to 1 quintal and the height ranges from 11 to 13 feet. (ANIL dayal)

Updated on Oct 15, 2018 11:23 am IST

The collective weight of all the idols of the Durga family is 0.5 to 1 quintal and the height ranges from 11 to 13 feet. (ANIL dayal)

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Durga’s eyes get lined with kohl before she gets her jewellery and lustrous curls. Chandi Das Halder, artist at the Sector 47 workshop, says,“ I design pandals too. It is my 24th year here. I stay here for five months before going home to work on idol designs,” he says. (ANIL dayal)

Updated on Oct 15, 2018 11:23 am IST

Durga’s eyes get lined with kohl before she gets her jewellery and lustrous curls. Chandi Das Halder, artist at the Sector 47 workshop, says,“ I design pandals too. It is my 24th year here. I stay here for five months before going home to work on idol designs,” he says. (ANIL dayal)

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Dried in the sun, the idols are being readied for a coating of paint. Subhashish Adhikari, owner of a workshop says, “We are making 60 idols this time. The raw material comes from West Bengal. If we need more bamboo and mud, we get them from Delhi or Zirakpur. The costs of the idols range from ~ 20,000 to ~ 80,000.” (ANIL dayal)

Updated on Oct 15, 2018 11:23 am IST

Dried in the sun, the idols are being readied for a coating of paint. Subhashish Adhikari, owner of a workshop says, “We are making 60 idols this time. The raw material comes from West Bengal. If we need more bamboo and mud, we get them from Delhi or Zirakpur. The costs of the idols range from ~ 20,000 to ~ 80,000.” (ANIL dayal)

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