Kolkata: Saraswati
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This week was the Hindu festival of Saraswati. Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge, music, and the arts. She is generally depicted as having four arms, as playing a musical instrument (the vina), and as having a peacock at her feet.
I took this picture of these Saraswati figures in the potters area of Kolkata known as Kumortuli. This famous neighborhood which has been around since the 17th century, produces clay idols of Hindu gods and goddesses for all the various Hindu festivals. They are perhaps best known for their figures of the goddess Durga. The effigies range in size from small, table-top figures to massive displays over 10 feet tall, and they are shipped to over 90 countries around the world.
To make the figures, the potters typically start with a wood and bamboo skeleton. Next they are covered with straw to create the shape and then the dummy is coated with an initial layer of thick clay. After drying for a few days another coat is applied, smoothed, and allowed to dry before the process of modeling begins. Eventually the figures will be painted with elaborate colors, decorated and embellished before they are shipped out.
Kolkata: Saraswati
Follow me on: Facebook Fan Page | Twitter
This week was the Hindu festival of Saraswati. Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge, music, and the arts. She is generally depicted as having four arms, as playing a musical instrument (the vina), and as having a peacock at her feet.
I took this picture of these Saraswati figures in the potters area of Kolkata known as Kumortuli. This famous neighborhood which has been around since the 17th century, produces clay idols of Hindu gods and goddesses for all the various Hindu festivals. They are perhaps best known for their figures of the goddess Durga. The effigies range in size from small, table-top figures to massive displays over 10 feet tall, and they are shipped to over 90 countries around the world.
To make the figures, the potters typically start with a wood and bamboo skeleton. Next they are covered with straw to create the shape and then the dummy is coated with an initial layer of thick clay. After drying for a few days another coat is applied, smoothed, and allowed to dry before the process of modeling begins. Eventually the figures will be painted with elaborate colors, decorated and embellished before they are shipped out.