A Visit to Kolkata’s Kumartuli District

Wanting to explore the culture of Kolkata a bit more, I decided to travel to the traditional potter’s quarter called Kumartuli. This place is renowned for being the section of Kolkata where the majority of clay images of gods are produced. It is a fascinating place to explore and since Durga Puja is fast approaching, I figured it would be a good time to see the creative process in action.

Durga Puja is West Bengal’s biggest festival and spans the course of ten nights. During this holiday, images of Ma Durga slaying the buffalo-demon Mahishasura are displayed all over Kolkata. Local communities cooperate to purchase the materials and set up temporary pandals (improvised structures) to showcase images of Ma Durga along with her associates–the deities Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha, and Kartikeya.

Using bamboo poles and bundles of grass as a base, armatures are first crafted. Then the skilled artisans, using their hands and basic tools, apply clay to the skeletal frameworks which are then allowed to dry outside in the sun in a process requiring many layers and a good deal of time to complete. Once the sculptures have dried, they are painted and decorated to produce the murtis (sacred idols) that have made this place famous. No longer just a local phenomenon, these days the clay statues from Kumartuli are exported to countries all over the world. Sculptures must be ordered well in advance to allow proper time for this labor-intensive work.

One fascinating aspect of this whole process is that the clay idols are never fired because they are intended to be destroyed. During the Hindu pujas in which the deity images are fashioned from clay and worshipped for a specified time period, the images are designed to be temporarily functional rather than permanent. The goddess Durga is NOT the image that is fashioned from earth, but rather something much greater that we can only glimpse through a constructed image. During Durga Puja, these elaborate displays are worshipped as a place where humans can identify with the power of Durga, but at the end of the celebrations the image is returned to the elements from which it was derived by ceremoniously immersing it in the Ganges River.

This immersion, without doubt, is the most ecstatic part of the whole festival. To the beat of enormous dhak drums played by ensembles of “dhakis,” trucks carrying all manner of Durga statues–ranging in size from two feet to twenty feet–slowly proceed through the streets of Kolkata, heading toward the Ganges. There, the statues are immersed in her sacred waters where the unfired clay returns to its source. It is hard to describe a celebration of this magnitude where throngs of people gathered along the river banks dance, fireworks explode everywhere, and music comes at you from every direction. Durga Puja is often referred to as the “Rio Carnival” of the East and for a very good reason. I have never seen an entire city go as absolutely berserk in my life.

The day I visited Kumartuli was unfortunately rainy and miserable. Apparently, I am no match for India’s monsoon season. Despite the weather, it was definitely a good introduction to this area and the start of my personal goal of getting a Kali Ma image constructed. I learned that deity images are never fired at Kumartuli for religious reasons. However, many artisans now work with fiberglass and are willing to construct a waterproof statue (to my specs) that will last indefinitely–very good news for me! I plan on visiting Kumartuli throughout my stay and posting more photographs as well as a detailed analysis of the creative process. During the Durga Puja festivities you can expect to see many images of the finished murtis as well as the elaborate pandal displays along with audio recordings of the processional dhak drumming. Generally people are so excited that they force me to dance and go wild with them. While I am definitely going to do some of that, I also want to get some good audio recordings so I can share those experiences with my friends back home. Jay Ma Durga!