Kolkatar Pratima Shilpira by Anita Agnihotri [Hardcover]

"Idol-making is one of Kolkata's significant urban folk arts. Our Durga Puja is over two hundred and fifty years old. Other festival pujas might be even older. Even today, thousands of people are involved in this craft. Many of them are idol-makers and artisans; others bring straw, collect clay, or supply weapons, clothes, jewelry, and hair for the idols. The market for raw materials and supplies extends beyond Kolkata. Behind the grandeur and lighting of the pandals, the faces of everyone except a few renowned artists fade away. What are these people like? How do they live their lives? How do they view their work? What is their future? Will their successors survive in this profession, burdened by debt and expenses, fifty years from now? How have various social changes and movements altered the history of idol-making? This is the first book that attempts to capture the entirety of idol-making, an integral part of Bengali culture. It is also a poignant portrayal of the marginal lives. Seen through the eyes of a poet and storyteller, it is an intimate revelation of a very close world."