These photos were taken in September 2008. What you’re seeing are actually mud statues that take nearly a year to make, in preparation for the Durga Puja festival, when the statues are then immersed in and returned to the river.
The first image shows the demon whom the goddess Durga fights and defeats.
The second image is of a lion, the mount of the goddess Durga.
And finally, the goddess herself.
These amazing statues are all created on pandals (a temporary structure on which these statues and other words of art are set upon in some type of motif). The arrangement of goddess, tiger, demon, and other elements on the pandals all signify the victory of the goddess over the demon, or good over evil.
Creation of these mud and clay statues is a very holy process. The artisans all live in one part of town, and they take great pride in their work. Since my visit was a month before the Durga Puja festival, these photos here are merely a work in progress. It is not hard to believe that people have prepared year-round for the festival!
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