Kumortuli Adventures...

Had gone in search of a new topic. The way artists scout around for new subjects to paint. Heard the story of mud. How expensive it was. How it came from Uluberia and Diamond Harbour. How boatsmen went into the heart of the Ganges to dredge this profound offering of the earth. One person told me, 'earth/mud is the price of gold'. Apparently, just a ball is close to a 150.

The mud comes in boats to the Kumortuli Ghat. Did not know that such a ghat existed. The mud had to be prepared for image making by putting in it the husks of grain ( tush). This was done to harden the mud.

There were two kinds of mud: Bele mati and Entel Mati. The images were nade from both. The steps were that you first created a structure on which the image would stand and a bamboo back rest or support . Then you created the image with straw. And then you moulded the image with mud. And then the dressing after two weeks.

                                   

My pictures show you the arrival of the boats with the mud 2) the straw Saraswati 3) the partially ready Saraswatis without clothes and finally a medley of images. One could get to see Rabindranath, Sister Nivedita, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Sri Ramakrishna, Swamiji and Sri Sarada Devi. And Ganesh of course. Some people just love to make Ganesh.