The festival of Durga Puja is celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm in the state of West Bengal. As the date for the festival comes closer, the preparations for the festivities have accelerated across the state.
When discussing Goddess Durga’s idol, one typically imagines a grand clay idol in a mandap, yet Subir Biswas has redefined this by using slate to craft a towering representation of the goddess. As a child, Subir learned to use simple slate designs to portray not only Durga but also her lion and Mahishasura. Over a year, he meticulously joined hundreds of small slates to form Goddess Durga’s image, along with figures of Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Ganesha, Goddess Saraswati and Lord Kartikeya. This unique slate artwork has turned his workshop in Jhargram into a popular destination for visitors.
Living in the Ghoradhara area of Jhargram town, Subir has been engaged in artistic pursuits for 40 years, starting with sculptures made from wood, tree roots and bamboo. His exploration into slate began incidentally while sharpening a shoemaking tool on a slate, where he noticed the residual shapes. This discovery spurred him to experiment more with the material, leading him to master the technique of slate carving.
Over a year, Subir used about 100 slates to create an 8-foot-tall and 6-foot-wide Goddess Durga idol. For the accompanying deities Lakshmi, Ganesha, Kartik, and Saraswati, he needed between 60 to 70 slates each. Altogether, around 400 slates were carved by Subir to complete the ensemble. He describes himself as a devotee of the divine feminine, using art as his medium of devotion rather than religious scholarship. He began with smaller slate images of notable figures and writers before tackling the larger project of the Goddess Durga idol. After crafting this massive piece, Subir is now motivated to create 100 such Durga representations in slate.
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