Assam artisan to send fiberglass-made Durga idol to London

With just a month left for the Durga Puja festival, an artisan from Assam’s Karimganj district is all set to send a fiberglass-made idol of Goddess Durga to London.

The 2.5 feet Durga idol has made with fiberglass.

Artist and clay modeler Sanjay Kumar Paul who made the Durga idol said that he received the order for making the idol two months back.

“The height of the idol is 2.5 feet and I have used fiberglass and some clay for making the Durga idol and it has taken one and half month to complete my works,” Paul said.

“It is for the first time that, the Durga idol will be exported to London from North East. The cost of the idol is around Rs 55,000,” he added.

Celebrated in Shukla Paksha of the month Ashwin in the Hindu calendar (September-October), Durga Puja is the major annual festival in Assam. It is also celebrated in other parts of India.

The 10-day festival marks the worship of Goddess Durga. Months before the festival, artisanal workshops sculpt idols of Durga and her children (Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh) using unfired clay.

The festival marks its beginning on the day of Mahalaya when the ritual of ‘pran pratistha’ is done by painting the eyes on the goddess idol. Sasthi, Saptami, Ashtami…every day the festival has its own significance and set of rituals. The celebrations culminate on the tenth day known as Vijaya Dashami when the idols are immersed in water bodies from where the clay was sourced.

The significance of Durga Puja goes beyond religion and is revered as the celebration of compassion, brotherhood, humanity, art and culture. From the reverberation of ‘dhaak’ and new clothes to delicious food, there remains a merry-go-round mood during these days.