Kumartuli Sculptors Prepare for Festival Season - India

Kumartuli, Kolkata's historic potters' quarter, is renowned for its centuries-old tradition of crafting clay idols, especially for the Durga Puja festival. Artisans sculpt elaborate figures of Hindu deities from straw and clay inside narrow, open-air workshops in this densely populated neighborhood in northern Kolkata, India, on August 5, 2025. The area dates back to the early 18th century, when potters were commissioned to create idols for wealthy Bengali households. Today, Kumartuli supplies thousands of handcrafted idols not only to cities across India but also to international communities celebrating Durga Puja. As the festival approaches, the pace of work intensifies, with sculptors of all ages and skill levels contributing to the creation of goddess Durga, Ganesh, Kartik, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. The craft blends spiritual devotion with generational artistry, sustaining a vital cultural heritage that continues to thrive amid urban transformation. Photo by Debajyoti Chakraborty/Middle East Images/ABACAPRE

• Product Code
• ILEA004624178

• Registered date
• 2025/8/05 00:00:00

• Credit
• Abaca Press / Kyodo News Images

• Media source
• Middle East Images/ABACA

• Media size
• 6016 × 4016 pixel

• Resolution
• 72 dpi

• Deployment size
• 2.88(MB)*

• Special instruction

*File size when opened in Photoshop, etc.