Believe it or not, an old traditional hidden custom still plays a key role in the beliefs of Bengali artists who make idols of Goddess Durga during Navratri every year.
The custom is about using a handful of mud procured from a very old red light zone in Bengal as an old tradition and mixed with local mud to make idols of Goddess Durga.
Dozens of artists coming from West Bengal in Raipur bring the mud from City of Joy’s ‘Sonagachi’, the only licensed red light zone in eastern India and mix in the local mud or clay used in preparing the idols of Maa Durga, her children and Mahishasur.
“Every year the team of artists coming either from Murshidabad, Mednipur or Kalighat bring along a small amount of the mud from Kolkata’s brothel. It is not possible to begin the idol’s construction unless the particular area’s mud is not mixed,” said Sanjay Bhattacharya, the Executive Committee Member of Bengali Kalibari Samiti marking 83 years of organizing Durga Puja this year. Interestingly, it is the oldest Durga Puja organizer in the city.
Similarly, the second oldest Durga Puja organizers here felt they have been relying on the Bengal based artists for the ‘sacred purpose’. “We cannot go and ask for the mud. The brothel people would never give their compound’s mud to strangers. To cope up with the hesitation, we line up with artists who are into the idol making business of the Goddess over a long time,” said Jaideep Hore, the Secretary of Shree Shree Durga and Kali Puja Committee, Railway Institute about to complete 69 hosting years of the Durga Puja.
Meanwhile, Sanat Pal, the artist leading a team of artists from West Bengal accepted that the handful of mud is initially collected at Kumartuli (the place known for potters in Kolkata) and then distributed among the outstation artists. “We have been making Maa Durga idols in Raipur for decades. The prominent Maa Durga idols at lIC Colony, Kalibari, Pandri and Railway Institute are made up with a little amount of that mud,” Pal maintained.
Sources from Kolkata also informed that Sonagachi’s brothel mud is collected at Kumartuli and then transferred to other states. It is basically dry mud which is mixed with the mud collected from the river banks and left for a span of two days. The next step is beginning the process of idol making.
“The idol making in most of these old Committees commence around the ending of the ten-day long lord Ganesh Puja in September,” sources said.