Creating deity in own image

Sandeep Sinha

The crackling sound of Chandipath on radio and TV at the crack of dawn reminds you the inauspicious Shraddha period is over and the festival season-- beginning with Durga Puja—is here. At the Kalibari near the 3 BRD (Base Repair Depot) of the Air Force in Chandigarh, preparations are in full swing for the Kalash Sthapana on Wednesday. The ritual will take place on the 16th of this month in the Durga mandap even as Vijaya Dashami is on October 19.

But I am interested more in the man who makes statues of Goddess Durga for the 10-day festivity. Khokhon Adhikary, 42, is lying on a makeshift bed even as a statue of the goddess is being loaded on to a truck, to be taken to nearby Baddi in Himachal Pradesh. The adjoining shed is filled with idols of the goddess, waiting for the final deft touches by the artists to restore her to full glory. As the workers move around, running errands, a photographer is busy clicking pictures of the deity in her various stages of preparedness. The gentleman who has come to fetch the statue says he is originally from Uttar Pradesh but has been organising Durga Puja there for some time.

Khokhon Adhikary is basically from Jainagar in North 24 Parganas of West Bengal but has been based in Chandigarh for the past 25 years. “Preparations for Durga Puja here begin five months in advance,” he informs with artists and sculptors arriving from West Bengal to prepare statues to meet the demand. A total of 16 sculptors are required and they come from different places in West Bengal like Kalighat, Ultadanga and Kumartuli. The items to decorate statues of the goddess also come from West Bengal. Goddess Durga, however, does get a touch of Punjab here with the earth or soil (mitti), coming from the pinds (villages) of Punjab, providing for a confluence of cultures. But for the finishing work, the mitti or maati as the Bengalis call it, is still brought from Kolkata.

During these five months, approximately 60 statues of Goddess Durga are prepared here and supplied to various parts of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana besides Chandigarh despite the belt being known more for preparing and burning the effigy of the demon-king Ravana.

About the price these statues fetch, Khokhon Adhikary hedges around a bit, but admits that it all depends on the size and sajawat (decoration) of the statue and can be anywhere in the range of Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 or even Rs 25,000, though customers do bargain. He, however, refuses to reveal as to what remuneration he has to give to his workers, whose cost of food and lodging he has to bear.

Khokhon Adhikary is full-time into the business of making statues. During these five months, his workers prepare not only the idols of Goddess Durga but also statues of Lord Ganesha for Ganpati Puja and of Goddess Kali for Kali Puja, held immediately after Diwali.

And do his workers feel homesick or miss Kolkata? Bappi, an artiste working on a statue, laughs off the query with a smile. The work keeps them busy, he says. Does he get bhaat-maachh (rice-fish) here? After all, this is the roti belt, no great news for a dyed-in-the-wool Bengali? “Sab milt jata hai yehan,” he says, the mini-Bengal comforting him with a home away from home.