Durga Puja is no longer something that excites only one community nor is the celebration limited to a few regions… the fervour is the same all over the country. Delhi now probably has more than a thousand puja pandals. But this post isn’t about the pandals… it is about the making of Durga idols and trying to click an essence of the entire process. I had been planning to do this for years but have done it only this year, thanks to the #pujowithcanon photo-walk.
Durga puja happens during the Devi Paksha or the Fortnight of the Goddess and is celebrating the victory of the Goddess over evil. The evil here is the evil buffalo demon Mahishasura. These celebrations happen from ‘the sixth to tenth day of bright lunar fortnight (shukla paksha) in the Hindu calendar month of Ashvin’. Yes, the photo-walk did give me a number of beautiful shots and I have been able to arrange them in a sequence that will give an idea of how the idols get to their final shape.
However, before we get to the photo-essay on the making of Durga idols, let me add here that according to our epics, Lord Ram was a Durga worshipper and before he launched his final assault on Ravana, he is said to have performed the ‘Chandi Homa’ to invoke her (Durga’s) blessings. The epics clarify that Lord Rama was then revealed the secret method of killing Ravana and it was on the day of Ashvin Shukla Dashami, that he (Rama) discovered the whereabouts of Sita and defeated Ravana in battle. Ashvin Shukla Dashami is also celebrated as Dussehra.
Knowing this, I wasn’t a bit surprised to be told that the clay that is collected for idol-making must actually be done following a particular series of rituals. It is on Akshaya Tritiya the day for the Ratha Yatra that clay for the sculptures must be collected from the banks of a river.
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001_Durga Puja. Even the clay used is specified… and covered by rituals
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002_Durga Puja. The equipment isn’t state-of-the-art but the workmanship surely is…
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003_Durga Puja. Idols aren’t just of Durga or the demon… but their vehicles from the animal kingdom too are included, besides other characters to complete the story-board
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004_Durga Puja. Naked idols too are not just nouns but verbs or action words!
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005_Durga Puja. Yes, there are faces discarded, limbs thrown away, and they probably serve to test the colours or are happily discovered by photographers like me
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006_Durga Puja. Colours must ideally be biodegradable and not synthetic or a risk to the environment
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007_Durga Puja. Some more equipment and tools that are used before the idols are ready to go to the next stage
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008_Durga Puja. Some more colours to form the base and then for the final artworks that make the idols come alive
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009_Durga Puja. An artist at work… the micro work is rather astonishing and my guess is that the detailing is getting more and more complex now
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010_Durga Puja. It isn’t all paint and brush work… there is the role of the glitter of jewellery too
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011_Durga Puja. No wonder these idols mesmerize a viewer…
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012_Durga Puja. No detail is left out, not even the colour on parts that might not be visible from far
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013_Durga Puja. The demons too aren’t weaklings as they die not before they have displayed their abs
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014_Durga Puja. Only once the idols are complete in all respects that they are ready to be rolled out and then carried on trucks…
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015_Durga Puja. Clicked this particular goddess as she looked at me through the bars on the mini truck
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016_Durga Puja. The trucks carry the idols with at least one person assigned to each idol to make sure that the transportation is safe and secure
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017_Durga Puja. One different shot that I tried…
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018_Durga Puja. The workers get their time off and they are the fortunate ones who have their siesta under the watchful eyes of the Gods
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019_Durga Puja. The final version has a charm that is undeniable and can be dressed in different ways
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020_Durga Puja. Different moods and different expressions besides the sort of dress that is decided for a Durga idol
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021_Durga Puja. I’m sure these idols are happy…
Durga puja isn’t about only religion and rituals now. It is also about the Indian instinct to love a mela and the good food that is invariably there. It is also about art and the competitiveness it has the power to invite. Sometimes the pandals taken together are defined as the largest art festival on earth… but then Bengalis are rather fond of their hyperbole, I guess. But these pandals and this fortnight is for sure a great convergence of art, music, and dance and not worth missing despite the crowd. The Wikipedia states: ‘The prominence of Durga Puja increased gradually during the British Raj in Bengal and erstwhile Assam. After the Hindu reformists identified Durga with India, she became an icon for the Indian independence movement. In the first quarter of the 20th century, the tradition of Baroyari or Community Puja was popularised due to this. After independence, Durga Puja became one of the largest celebrated festivals in the whole world. It is also the largest open Air Art Exhibition in the World.’ Well, wherever there is a festival there is bound to be an exhibition… isn’t Diwali an exhibition of the wealth one has to burn and explode as crackers? Isn’t holi about exhibiting how full of a colourful verve you are? But let me just stay with Durga Puja for a while… and add that the pandals have intricately made idols and an equally intricate and overwhelming exterior. I’ve heard that architects are hired to design the pandals and that the aim is always winning the prize for the best one in a city.
All of this happens between the sixth to ninth days of the waxing moon fortnight known as Devi Paksha, as I have mentioned before…and the tenth day is for the immersion (or visarjan or bishorjan) of the idols to represent return of Durga to her husband Shiva after she has vanquished evil and ensured a victory for all that is good and virtuous.
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A few more pictures that I liked from my shots:
Durga Puja 2015. An expressionless Goddess about to be given life by an artist
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Durga Puja 2015. I’m sure the idols don’t like the way their posteriors are treated…
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Durga Puja 2015. Close-up of a demon and the fear in his eyes is apparent
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Durga Puja 2015. The debate is always about if the lion depicted in these idols id the Africal lion… can someone please identify?
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Durga Puja 2015. This lion is ferocious and the demon controlling a show of his fear…
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Durga Puja 2015. This demon is terrified to even see the lion so near… ha! ha!
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Durga Puja 2015. I’m sure there must always be a few idols no one comes to pick up… so a moment of silence for the lonely and the unwanted. Not that the ones queued up in this pic are the ones who are left out. Not yet.
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Durga Puja 2015. This demon is excited to be loaded on the truck… does he even know what is going to happen to him?
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Durga Puja 2015. The unbeatable expression
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Durga Puja 2015. In b/w too the might of a Goddess is obvious
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Durga Puja 2015. Seems vulnerable without her head gear and the rest of her shringar
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Arvind Passey
20 October 2015
Note: All photos clicked on my Nikon D5100. lens used: 50mm and 18-55.
10 comments
Ankur says:
Oct 20, 2015
The pictures sum up everything. Amazingly covered Arvind Sir.
Arvind Passey says:
Oct 20, 2015
Thank you, Ankur… do visit my blog again and read the other posts as well. 🙂
VJ Sharma says:
Oct 20, 2015
Nice post with wonderful photographs. I loved the way you observed the place and idols. My fav is 015_Durga Puja
Arvind Passey says:
Oct 20, 2015
Thanks a lot, VJ… but you must know that YOU are the guru and I am just trying to attempt some of the things you keep telling me.
Thank you for liking the post and commenting. 🙂
Sutapa Basu says:
Oct 20, 2015
Arvind, you have caught Durga in all her splendour even as she and a her children are being made. When you wonder at the intricacy of the artists, you must remember that for them the making of the idol is worshipping the deity. So create the Mother that resides in their hearts. So the dedication is not so much for the viewer as much for their own spiritual satisfaction.
Another interesting fact is that in West Bengal a little clay for the idol is collected from a prostitute’s home. In fact the ritual is that she is begged for the clay outside her home and it is taken from her hands as a blessing for a successful idol creation. The reason for this ritual is that when people visit a prostitute it is believed that they leave their purity outside her home. So the clay outside her home is called ‘punya mati’ and it is necessary for the idol.
Strange that all the year, those who are outcastes are suddenly given this significance when the Durga idol, worshipped by all, is created.
Arvind Passey says:
Oct 21, 2015
This is interesting… thank you, Sutapa, for this story. Your story has now inspired me to search for more stories surrounding Durga Puja… and I am planning to go and talk to a few Bengali friends and see if they happen to know any. Nice to have you read my post… 🙂
Chandresh Jain says:
Oct 21, 2015
Durga Puja 2015. This demon is excited to be loaded on the truck… does he even know what is going to happen to him …. The shot reminds me of a scene from movie ” OMG ” where akshay kumar playing the role of Lord Krishna Roam around watching and wandering why people make and worship Statue’s when there hearts are filled with hatred
Arvind Passey says:
Oct 21, 2015
Interesting observation, for sure… and yes, the real essence of festivities is not smiles that are external but harmony that runs like blood in our arteries. 🙂
Swati & Sam says:
Oct 22, 2015
Very beautiful photographs
Arvind Passey says:
Oct 23, 2015
Thank you… 🙂
And I must thank Canon too for allowing a Nikon-wielding enthusiast to join their walk. Ha! Ha!