The Hindu : National : A Durga for Dallas

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 28, 2004

National

National

A Durga for Dallas

By Marcus Dam

KOLKATA, JULY 27. An eight-foot fibre-glass image of Goddess Durga and images of the allied pantheon, started their journey from here to Singapore last weekend for onward despatch to Dallas. The images should reach there by October, to be worshipped by the Indian community during the Durga Puja festival — the biggest event in the Bengali's social calendar.

Though there have been instances in the past of non-resident Indian communities organising puja festivals abroad placing orders for images of the goddess from this city's artisans, it is not often that the chosen material for sculpting is fibre-glass.

The relatively light medium makes transportation easy and inexpensive.

Maiden attempt

The artisans of Kolkata's Kumartuli, known for their dexterity in clay, have made the image. This is not the first time that artisan Prodyut Pal — member of a family that has been in the clay-modelling business for four generations — is responding to an overseas order. But it is his maiden attempt with fibre-glass.

Mr. Pal said: ``Three years ago we sent a clay model of the goddess to Middlesex in the U.K. The organisers there have modified the practice of immersing the idol at the close of the festival, and it has been preserved in a home, to be brought out for community worship this year again — but for the last time. The order for a fresh image from the puja committee in Middlesex for next year is expected.''

On the Net

Mr. Pal spotted the opportunity on the Internet. ``I stumbled onto the e-mail addresses of at least 45 Durga Puja committees based in countries such as Russia, New Zealand, the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. I began correspondence and bagged the Dallas order three months ago.'' He also has an order for an image of Goddess Saraswati from Los Angeles.

Mr. Pal and his six-member group of artisans, all of the same family, were involved in the Dallas project.

The total weight of the image along with the four subsidiary images is about 90 kg. This is a third of the weight of images sculpted in clay.

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