The idol crafted by the students
Kolkata: Three students from Manindra Chandra College crafted a 1.5ft terracotta Durga idol to carry it to the terracotta land of Bankura, where they will celebrate puja with over 250 underprivileged tribal women and children. Vivek revealed that they ordered terracotta clay online and learnt the process through online tutorials, supplemented by tips from friends studying sculpture at art college. Three final-year undergraduate students from the department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Vivek Sardar, Priyangshu Ghosh, and Rupam Mistri crafted the idol. To give the piece a polished, authentic finish, they visited the Behala-based art collective ‘Chhader Haat’. The entire initiative was made possible through student-led fundraising, with students saving from their daily pocket money and festive allowances. Alumni, faculty members across departments, and well-wishers from various parts of the country as well from abroad also contributed to the fund.
They left Kolkata on Saturday with the idol to celebrate Durga Puja with the tribal children and women at Laxmi Murmu School in Jhanti Pahari, Bankura.