West Bengal artists make traditional ornaments for Goddess Durga

Siliguri, Sep 23(ANI): To decorate the idols of Goddess Durga, members belonging to a particular artistic community in Siliguri are these days engrossed in creating traditional ornaments called 'Dak Shaj' used extensively during the Durga Puja festival.

The 'Dak Shaj' is the conventional form of decoration and ornamentation of the idol of Goddess Durga, which are sets of ornaments made out of thermocol, mica and other glowing materials.

Sourav Malakar and his family have been engaged in doing this work for more than a century.

"This art form belongs to our family's tradition. It is being done for the past 120 years. We wait for this Puja throughout the year and the whole family gets engrossed in this work, setting aside all other tasks and needs," Malakar said.

The price tags for a set of ornament range from Rs 1,000 to more than Rs 10,000 depending on the kind of artistic work involved in designing and creating the ornaments.

Goddess Durga is worshipped all over the country in different forms. The festival is called Durga Puja in West Bengal, Assam and Tripura, while in the rest of the country, it is known as Dussera and Navaratri.

During the Durga Puja, goddess Durga is depicted as a powerful goddess, riding a raging lion, holding aloft ten weapons of war in her ten hands. Her trident is depicted plunging into the side of a monstrous buffalo, out of whose body emerges a demon symbolising evil. (ANI)