Tales Of Modern India: 3D Idols To Mark Durga Puja

The digital models can be replicated multiple times using a variety of material and 3D printers anywhere in the world and the process will help the craftsmen too, Mitra said.

Kaustava, the artist who was trained by the organisation to design the image, said the procedure also allows designers to "undo" an anomaly and retrace a few steps to start all over again, something which can't be done with normal sculpting.

"Initially it was a bit difficult to work with a completely new technology, but once you get to work with the software, it is an easy process and I hope I can teach it to others. We have retained the essence of the Durga idol," Kaustava told IANS.

Meanwhile, far away from the world of software and swanky computers, in the dingy, meandering Kumartuli alleys, things are moving at a frenetic pace inside the cramped workshops of the artists.

"This year, we have observed more demand for the traditional ekchala frame (single frame with Durga and her four children). People want to see the familiar lotus-shaped eyes and full face of Durga, flanked by her family. There is a markedly less demand for lone Durga idols in modern designs," Babu Pal, spokesperson of the Kumartuli Mritshilpi Sanskritik Samity (an artists' forum), told IANS.

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