As Kolkata Gears Up for Durga Puja, a Rift Between Idol Makers

Courtesy of Sean McLainShiv Shankar Paul, 60, working on clay models in his shop in Kolkata, West Bengal on July 16.

KOLKATAâ€"On a hot and humid July afternoon in Kumartuli, Kolkata's historic potter's district, Shankar Kumar Paul was playing absentmindedly with a ball of clay, turning it first into a swan and then into an elephant.

“This is God's work,” he said.

Mr. Paul was experimenting with designs for this year's Durga Puja festivities, for which he and other artisans would sell 3,000 idols. “It's just like when you cook - you don't know if it's good until you taste it; you don't know how good an id ol will be unless you model it,” he said.

The festival, which begins Saturday, marks the goddess Durga's descent to earth with her children, and devotees in Kolkata will see for the first time the handiwork of Kumartuli's artists for this year's celebration. Priests will bless the pandals, or idol displays, and the Durga idol's face will be revealed to the beat of traditional drummers. Women compete in cooking contests called anandamelas, and the city will be thronged with families touring the thousands of displays until late in the evening.

“Puja is a competitive sport in West Bengal,” said Mr. Paul. Every year, thousands of neighborhood associations, clubs and wealthy families construct elaborate, often themed pandals and compete for awards and prizes. The best pandals receive corporate sponsorship.

Like many of the idol makers in Kumartuli, Mr. Paul believes his work is sacred. “While we make Durga thakur [idols], we don't eat meat or drink alcohol,” he said. Mr. Paul did confess to having the occasional cigarette, explaining, “I can't give up everything.”

Kolkata's idol-making industry is dominated by a few families, and many of the businesses are handed down father to son. But men like Mr. Paul are a dying breed â€" not only are their numbers dwindling, but their traditional methods are being pushed aside for more modern ones.

Saurabh Das/Associated PressAn idol of goddess Durga at a workshop in Kumartuli in Kolkata, West Bengal on Oct. 17.

Ironically, it was the increased success of the Kumartuli sculptors that is leading to their decline. As puja celebrations became increasingly popular, the fortunes of these families increased, which meant the children of idol makers were sent to school instead of learning the trade. That has led to a decline in the overall numbers of idol makers. From around 350 master sculptors, the number has fallen to around 150.

“If their children get educated, they choose other professions with steady work instead of this seasonal work,” said Kaushik Ghosh, 37, the son of the famous Kumartuli sculptor Amar Nath Ghosh.

Mr. Ghosh and his father broke with tradition a decade ago, a move that is dividing Kolkata's idol-making community. They took their business online and began making fiberglass versions of the idols.

http://www.amarnathghoshandsondurgaprotima.com/A Durga Puja idol made by Amanath Ghosh & Son's.

Traditionally, a Durga Puja idol is taken to the water at the end of the 10-day holiday, submersed in water and allowed to float away. But there is little need for Bengali communities outside of India to purchase clay idols, since their local antipollution laws prevent them from submersing their idols in water. Instead, they keep them to worship year after year. Fiberglass, which is hardier and retains color better, is a sounder investment.

Fiberglass is also less prone to damage and far lighter than clay idols. A typical seven-foot-tall clay idol weighs around 1,000 pounds. A similar-sized fiberglass idol weighs one-tenth of that.

Babu Pal, the secretary of the Kumartuli Potters Cultural Association, said that the business from overseas is growing rapidly. “Last year there were about 30 idols sent abroad; this year it's 44. By next year it should be even more,” he said.

The Ghosh family dominates the international market for Durga idols. Of the 44 idols sent abroad from Kumartuli this year, 30 were made by the Ghosh family. “You would be hard pressed to find an idol in the States not made by us. All the New York idols are ours,” Mr. Ghosh said.

Other famous sculptors have begun following in Mr. Ghosh's footsteps and have taken their business online, including the Gora Chand Paul family and the Badal Chandra Paul family.

West Bengal, which recently banned the submersion of idols to cut down on water pollution from the lead-based paints used on clay idols, is also seeing some, albeit few, Bengalis switch to fiberglass idols as well. Kolkata is in the middle of a construction boom, and high rises are popping up everywhere. Middle-class families who want to hold a family puja would be hard pressed to get an idol weighing half a ton into their apar tment, but fiberglass versions can be easily carried by a few people.

Mr. Paul has few kind words for his colleagues who are switching to fiberglass.

Across the narrow alleyway from his workshop is a rival that this year decided to abandon clay for fiberglass. While Mr. Paul sat waiting for customers, he watched as idols were carried out his rival's door. “He's not a real artist. He uses machinery and laborers,” he said.

He admitted, however, that he will find it hard to compete if fiberglass continues to grow in popularity.

“What work we do in 160 days, they do in six days,” he said.

Sean McLain is a freelance journalist based in New Delhi. You can follow him on Twitter @McLainSean