Intricately crafted effigies of goddess Durga each indifferent stages of completion - many of them larger than life - are carefullyplaced in the premises of the Kali Temple in Vasco. Also present are the idolsof Kali, Ganesha, Laxmi, Saraswati and Kartik, along with statues of the lionthat the goddess Durga rides on and the buffalo demon Mahishasura that sheslays. Many pairs of large unmoving eyes stare at you, mesmerising andintimidating you all at once; making one feel like being in the midst of anarmy that might spring to life any second.
The statues have been made from scratch by craftsmen whohave come all the way from Kolkata. “I have been coming to Goa for the last 33years,” says Rajkumar Pal, the master craftsman who is in his 60s. He alongwith four workers made the trip to Goa 75 days ago and immediately beganworking on making the idols, beginning with that of Lord Ganesh. He will returnto Kolkata after Diwali. For the rest of the year that Pal makes religiousidols.
What is impressive is the craftsmen transport clay from thebanks of river Ganga all the way from Kolkata. “The kind of clay that we get onthe banks of river Ganga is not available here; therefore we collect the clayfrom the Ganga and transport 300 kgs of it to Goa by truck,” says Pal. Theidols are made of three types of clay, and use the clay from the Ganga only forthe making the visage. “The other clay is procured from Mapusa and is mixedwith sand and mud,” says Subhra Roy, member of the temple committee. “Thecraftsmen are provided with lodging, water and electricity from the temple. Fortravel and the other necessities such as food, they spend their own money,”says Sapan Bag, the joint secretary of the temple.
The Kali temple is the only temple in Goa where sets ofGoddess Durga are fashioned. “These sets are made to satisfy orders that arereceived from all over Goa and even from Karwar,” says Pandit ManoranjanChakraborty of the temple. The sets were sent to the various locations onOctober 19, 2012, where after four days of intense worship, they will beimmersed into a water body.
