In the narrow lanes of Kumartuli in north Kolkata, barely wide enough for a hand-pulled rickshaw to pass though, the only people you will usually meet are the Kumars – the idol-makers of the city. It is from here that idols of Goddess Durga and other deities make their way into Kolkata every year.
Karthik Paul has a workshop here, a shed really of bamboo and plastic sheets, called 'Brajeshwar and Sons' (named after his father). He tells us about the long and layered process of making an idol. Various mixes of soil like Gangamati (mud from the banks of the river) and path mati (a mixture of jute particles and Ganga mati ) are used during the different stages of making an idol.
