Durga Puja, as we all know, is one of the biggest festivals in India and is the biggest festival of Bengal and the Bengalis.
The Durga Puja usually takes place in the month of October but the preparation for the Puja, by the organisers and also the idol makers start from the month of July, on the day of the RathYatra with the worship of the hay structure.
The place where idols of Maa Durga (A hindu deity) is created by the creation of God(human) is known as Kumortuli and is situated in North Kolkata. This is also the time when these clay artists, who make these idols earn the bulk of their yearly income, so in other words, this puja is also a good source of livelihood for these poor people, who are very rich in their artistic talent.
Since the time I had developed my passion for photography, I always had a desire to visit Kumortuli and be a witness to the preparation of the puja and watch these artists at work. So accordingly one fine morning, me and my friend Sourav decided to visit the place where Creator is recreated with the help of mud, hays, and bamboos by the creation of him!
I still remember that day, it was a bright and sunny morning on 14th September, 2011 and nearly the end of the monsoon season. But when we finally reached our destination, we were greeted by a cloudy sky.
When we entered the main area, we were just amazed by the sight of the different workshops on both sides of the lane, where idols were being made. But within 5-6 mins our dream was about to get washed away as a spell of heavy shower started. We decided to take shelter in a roadside tea shop and just pray for the heavy showers to stop at the earliest.
Even while waiting, we didn’t want to waste our opportunity, we took some snaps of the place, during the rain itself.
At this time, we noticed a workshop just in front of the tea shop, where two aged artists were busy giving final touches to the idols of Maa Durga and we decided to shift our shelter there, so that we can have a close look at them through the lens.
We both were mesmerized to see their immense dedication and concentration on each and every small movement of their brush. They gladly appreciated the presence of two young photography aspirants like us and we were overwhelmed by their behavior!
We watched them closely for around 2 hrs, shared some conversation and came to know that they are the creators of Maa Durga idols of some of the reputed Durga Puja organisers in Kolkata and even supply idols to foreign countries like USA , UK etc.
The ambiance was beautiful and holy!
By this time the rain had also stopped and after capturing some good snaps of the idols at different stages of their making, finally we decided to start our journey back home.
It was really great and we both enjoyed the memorable experience to witness idol making and how a hay structure is gradually transformed into a complete Maa Durga idol. Hope to have more such wonderful experience in coming days.
