Gods in the making: Meet the idol makers of Delhi’s CR Park | Lifestyle News, The Indian Express

Gods in the making: Meet the idol makers of Delhi’s CR Park | Lifestyle News, The Indian Express

Written by Prerna Mittra |New Delhi |Updated: September 20, 2019 12:10:12 pm

Gods in the making: Meet the idol makers of Delhi’s CR Park

For the next few months, these idol makers would find themselves a home in the capital, and dedicate themselves to the services of various deities.

Idol making has always been a family business; a skill having been generously passed through the generations. (Express photo)

A headless figurine of the goddess — her arms branching out — stood atop a semi-finished lion; a menacing Mahishasura at the feet, war-ready. The colossal frame, evidently unfinished, had a nightmarish touch to it. It was positioned deep inside an alleyway, in Kali Temple in Delhi’s CR Park, among other such idols, big and small, waiting for Bengal-based artisans to give their ‘Midas touch’, ahead of the annual Durga Puja celebrations. The idol makers were toiling hard, breathing life into these effigies; their unique sculpting skills having earned them the moniker of ‘makers of gods’.