"গিরিনন্দিনী"
Durgotshob
Since childhood we, Bengalis have been saying and hearing terms like kali pujo, lokkhi pujo, Saraswati pujo, but we have referred Durga pujo always as Durgotshob or simply "pujo". In this year of pandemic, we all have gained an important thing, that we all have lost in the passing ages, and that is self time. Abundant time to explore ourselves. Being an artist what can be more precious gift than getting abundance of time and utilising it into making something creative. In this lockdown I have always thought to shape my imagination and concept of Durgotshob. Every one of us have an image in our mind whenever we get to hear the word.
In my mind Durga pujo has always been an utshob or ocassion of joy and prosperity. A small ek- chala pratima that's Devi with her children, and vahans placed in a Durga dalan with green khirki windows, between yellow tham-karnishe and one can also see here stuffs like kolabou or nobopotrika sculpted with clay, at background aam pata - kadam chains hanging all through the pillars at the backdrop and white black chess board marble floor. Within all these I have also painted the chal-chitra that's the traditional Durga pat depicting all gods and goddesses associated with Devi, Bengali's own girl uma. The Durga idol is sculpted primarily taking inspirations from ivory work of Bengal with a little change of colonial lion with Bengal's own ghora-singho. Also I have sculpted the idol as a little girl, uma with a human alike face, the saree a little up, all wrapped around her waist, just like a little twelve year old girl running through the kash garden under blue autumn's sky. And to match this expression of her with her children I have made them too look more like little children who just have arrived to their maternal house after a whole year each reflecting the joy of celebration.
For this I have mentioned the title of Durgotshob, the ocassion and celebration of Home Coming......