GUWAHATI: On a faithful Thursday morning, roughly a fortnight away from the beginning of grand Durga Puja celebrations in Guwahati, artist or rather, karigar,Nirmal Pal sits at his workshop in Bishnupur, with a calm look on his face. He is perched on a wooden stool with a pencil-like instrument in his hand, giving shape to a ball of mud. Currently, he is working on the eyes of Goddess Durga and all the while, explaining the intense process of making puja idols from scratch.
“To start with, the raw materials we need to make these idols are wood, bamboo, hay,twine rope, mud, paint and color,” said Pal.
Once these raw materials are collected, the task begins. It is a step-by-step process that almost all karigars follow. First, hay is used to make the structure, the skeleton of the idols. Then, wood and bamboo is used to create a frame for the idols and its setting. After that, twine rope is used to attach the skeleton of the idols into the frame and this is followed by using mud to graft the idols to give them a base.
“To make these idols, we use a different kind of mud,” said Pal. “Red mud (Lal mitti) cannot be used, stone clay cannot be used. The mud needed to make the idols has to be very clean. We particularly use kheti ka mitti (mud used for farming).”
While in Kolkata it is customary to use mud obtained from a prostitute’s land or NishiddhoPallis (forbidden territories), no such custom is readily followed in Assam. Mud from the river banks of Ganga, cow dung and cow urine are also some other required items mentioned in old texts, however in present times, none of these elements are used as it is either not readily available or very time consuming to obtain.
“Nowadays, there is no religious significance to mud. Mud is mud. It should be good to make the idols, that’s it,” said Pal.
After the idols have been grafted with mud the first time, they are left outside to dry. It usually takes 2-3 days for these idol sets to dry, weather permitting. Then, when they are ready, it is polished again with mud to cover up the cracks and give it a final clay structure. After the finished structure is ready, then comes the time for details. Each finger, toe and facial feature is separately carved out of the same mud and then attached on to the idol to complete it. Then, everything is painted and clothes and jewelry hung on the idol. Some artisans opt of using real cloth and instead paint on the clothes for a more artistic and authentic feel.
In the olden days, the making of these idols would only start on the day of the RathYatra, which typically occurs during the months of July or August. The eyes of the idols would also be painted on the first day of the Puja as it was said that, that is when the idols come to life. But, these days, since there are many time constraints, karigars in almost all workshops in Guwahati make idols throughout the year. Idol-making for Durga Puja begins close to the month of April.
“Nowadays, idols have to be and are made year-round. Maybe in my father’s time, they would start work on the day of Rath Yatra because they only had to make 2 or 3 idol sets. But, we cannot afford to do that now because of the demand. Time is a big factor for us and so we start work six months before Durga Puja begins,” said Niranjan Pal, a karigar whose family has been in the idol making business for about 200 years and he, himself has been a karigar for 50 years and counting.
Even though these traditions are hard to keep up with, most artists do pray on the day of Rath Yatra and bless the mud. They use the mud from rath puja and add little bits and pieces in all their idols that have been previously made as it is considered auspicious. Nirmal Pal said that this is their little way to keep the tradition alive and also be able to keep up with the demand aspect of their business.
It generally takes a week to build a full set of Durga Puja idols if three-four people are working on it together.
“If it was only one person, it would take around 15 days to complete a set and since we are a business, we usually have a bunch of people making these idols together,” said Niranjan Pal of Loknath Shilpalaya workshop.
Most of these karigars come from Kolkata and there are a bunch of locals too, who are now learning this craft. When asked about how long it takes to learn how to make and perfect these idols, both established artisans said that it really depends on the person. They both said that while some artists can learn it perfectly in two years or less, others could be struggling for 20 years and still not be able to hone their craft.
“It’s about art right? It depends on the artist’s nazar (vision). You have to have an eye for it. When I was young, we had a karkhana (workshop) at home. I learnt from my elder brother, watching him work and practice. So it really depends on the individual,” said Nirmal Pal, who owns Roopshimir Shilpalay workshop in Bishnupur.
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These idol sets for Durga Puja are mostly made by order, as they require a lot of time and effort. However, some workshops do sell readymade idols that are available to purchase for everyone.