They have lived along Ganga River for as long as they know. A few days before Durga Puja they collect the clay from the river shores, mix it with some hay and using their skillful fingers carve out the Goddess and her entourage. The images are worshipped across the lanes of Kolkata for ten days and finally immersed in the Ganga, where the clay merges back into the shore it came from. Next year, they will again collect the clay and carve out the Goddess once again. They are the idol makers of Kumartuli.

Kumartuli or Komartoli, literally meaning the potter’s village, is one of the ancient villages on the territory of present day Kolkata and is part of a pilgrimage route going to Kalighat in the south of the city. This area still carries an intact old world charm and, as you step in there, you get the feeling of being in a different era, with flowers being sold on the footpaths, trams moving at a leisurely pace and artisans working on their creations. There are narrow shops with workshops that look like shacks from a distance where the artisans work on the idols, stacked across the length of their workshops.

While the most common idols are Kali and Durga with her entourage, the community also crafts clay idols for other Pujas like Vishwakarma, Ganesh, Lakshami and Saraswati Puja. Some artisans even work on human models. One can see the ubiquitous Rabindranath Tagore’s bust in most shops followed by other national leaders like Nehru and Gandhi. Statues are made on order for reasonable prices:give a good photograph of the person whose statue is to be made and you can be sure to get an unusual and certainly funny present.

Walking in the lanes, one would see half finished or half painted idols, feeling as if the artists were dressing up the Gods for a festival. Some of the decorations of the idols are so intricate that it is difficult to believe that they had been made in clay and molded by hand. It is a sheer pleasure to stand by and see the artisans run their expert fingers across the idols and give them curves and shapes that finally become expressions and emotions. Roaring lions and other animals to accompany the main idols: a whole reality is created by these artisans.

Most of the creators belong to families that have been making idols for generations: they have no formal training but they have grown up observing and learning the family art. Idols are made with a core of hay wrapped around with clay and baked. Then comes the paint, followed by clothes and other decorations. Religious rituals are done before the third eye of the Goddess is painted, which marks the completion of the idol.

So before next Durga Puja take a walk through Kumartuli: you will admire the art of idol making and enjoy the simplicity of the place and its people.