Bengalis cannot keep calm anymore as Durga Puja is approaching very soon. We are less than 3 months away from the biggest festival in West Bengal and the preparations all around the state are going on in full swing and at a fast pace. Bengalis are eagerly waiting to celebrate the best 5 days of the year by pandal hopping, gorging on yummy food, and creating core memories.
The World Is Getting Decked Up To Welcome Maa Durga & celebrate Durga Puja
Worshipping Maa Durga and spending the 5 days with glory and grandeur is not something that is celebrated only in West Bengal. You will find so many pandals worshipping Maa Durga in different places in India. Not just in our country, the massive festival is beautifully celebrated in several foreign places across the globe. When it comes to idol-making, Kumartuli in North Kolkata always tops the charts. The idol makers are working day and night to complete the huge list of orders of idols for this year.
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The grand 5 days of Durga Puja will begin on 20 0ctober and the idols are already ready to be exported to different parts of the world. There are so many pandals abroad that always celebrate Durga Puja by worshipping Maa Durga idols crafted in Kolkata’s Kumartuli. Less than 3 months away from the big celebration, idols have already started being dispatched overseas.
The Global Appreciation And Demand For Kumartuli Idols Are MASSIVE!
This traditional potters’ colony in Kolkata has been in demand for idol-making since forever. And the demand is only increasing every passing year. Many potters who export idols to foreign countries receive a good amount of orders each year. An idol-maker named Mintu Pal shared with Republic World that he has received 14 orders for the Durga Puja celebrations overseas. He has already exported 8 of them to places such as Australia, Berlin, Canada, Germany, and New York. Other orders are from Dubai, Texas, Sharjah, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.
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- Dispatching huge idols to such far away distances is not an easy task at all. Firstly, idol-makers use fibreglass for crafting these idols.
- Then they export to foreign cities by flights and ships.
- Ships are used for bigger idols and it is also cheaper than transporting by flights.
- The small idols are dispatched on planes.
- When it comes to ships, the time taken to reach the USA from Kolkata is about 2 months, and even sometimes more, like 70 days.
- And it takes about 15-20 days to reach places like Dubai and Singapore.
Are you excited to celebrate Durga Puja? Have you started shopping?
Cover Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons