CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Tucked inside north Kolkata, Kumortuli or Kumartuli (or the potter’s abode) is a maze of lanes and by-lanes where deft hands mould clay to give shape to divine forms. Rows of idols in various stages of completion stood inside the dark workshops.

Detailed explanation-2: -The raw material-sticky soil or Atha mati-is brought in trucks from West Bengal or Punjab during monsoon. Sticky in nature, it allows itself to be moulded in the shape of the iron wirework which forms the exoskeleton of the idol. Making the Durga idol takes four to five months.

Detailed explanation-3: -Durga Puja: Idol made of ‘ashtadhatu’ in Kolkata stands at 11 feet, weighs over 1000 kg.

Detailed explanation-4: -These beautiful idols with the mukut and her ten arms are made in the bylanes of Kumartuli in Kolkata by artisans who painstakingly make them with clay for the festivities.