From the outside, Lovely Nursery in Kadavanthra, Kochi, looks like just another plant nursery with its neat rows of greens and flowers. But the action is at the far end of the nursery, under a makeshift shed covered by blue tarpaulin. Tapan Kumar Jena, a septuagenarian idol-maker from Digha in West Bengal, is shaping and fixing fingers of the idols of Durga there. The six idols await their ‘fingers’, which are stacked on the floor. Tapan’s wife, Suchitra, hands him the fingers which he then shapes and attaches to the stumps. The sight is surreal, these eerily white, bare forms will transform into the revered divine, in a couple of days, when they are painted, adorned and their saris draped.
Near the stacked fingers is a half-open package of smooth, dough-like clay and the mould used to make the fingers. “That is ‘Ganga Maati’ from the Ganga which is used to make the idols. The soil here is not suitable for it, it just doesn’t come together. We do use local clay (piling leftovers) but not too much,” Tapan says.
He has been coming to Kerala for the past 20-odd years, usually with his two brothers and their wives. Suchitra’s brother is Uttam Sahu, who owns the nursery. Uttam is the reason Tapan first came to Kochi. “I think it was 2004 when I organised a Kali Puja here at the nursery. I asked Tapanda to come over to make the idol of Kali. That is how his tryst with making idols in Kerala started,” says Uttam, a gardener, who has been in Kochi since 1999.
The group of six stays at Uttam’s house nearby. Tapan is one of the many idol makers from Bengal who travel to other States as the Puja season approaches.
Making Gods all year
“They are busy all round the year,” jokes Uttam. Bookings have to be made at least four months in advance. “We had to refuse two orders – one from Kochi and the other from IIM Kozhikode because we will not be able to make them on time and deliver it,” Tapan says.
An idol, as Sheranwali, made by Tapan Kumar Jena at the North Indian Shiva temple, Udaya Nagar in the city on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit:
THULASI KAKKAT
This year, Tapan and family arrived in Kerala on September 2. Over the past 20 days that they have been here, they have 40-odd idols. They were also in Thiruvananthapuram making idols, “making one takes 10-12 days,” Tapan explains. Two idols headed for Kozhikode are among the ones being made at Lovely Nursery. They left Digha in July, heading to Punjab to start this year’s round of making idols for Bengali and North Indian Associations.
Continuous work
It has been hectic since they got here, working through the day to get the idols ready by September 27, before the Durga Puja observances begin in full earnest. The idol makers, however, seldom make it home in time for the festivities. “It has been years since we have been home for Puja. In fact, we make the idols for Kali Puja before we set off so that when we return, it is usually closer to Diwali, we don’t have to worry about it,” Tapan says.
Although they make idols of Durga and Kali, this time they made a Sheranwali (Vaishno Devi) for the North Indian Association at…Some of the idols are a single piece with all the idols mounted on a single base and there are others where each idol that completes a scene is made individually and placed together.
Tapan explains the process of making the idols which, at the end of Puja celebrations, are submerged in water. “First we make the outline shape out of bamboo which we then ‘fill out’ with hay which we cover with clay, shaping it. There are moulds for faces and extremities. Back home, I don’t use Plaster of Paris (PoP), I don’t like the feel of it, but I am forced to here because the clay will not hold. I apply a thin coat of PoP, to even out the texture of hay and smoothness. I will then sandpaper it, apply putty and it is ready to be painted.” Uttam lifts the idols to show how light they are.
Family trade of making idols
While they paint the idols, adorn it with jewellery made of colour paper by the womenfolk and drape the sari, sometimes the organisers provide the sari. The designs/models are finalised over WhatsApp as the makers send samples, or potential customers send their specifications. “I either refer to the photos or make them from memory.” The price of the idols depends on the size, ranging from ₹40,000-₹1,00,000.
Tapan has been making idols for the past 45 years, his father was also an idol maker. “I tried to get a government job, I even made it to the shortlist but did not get the job. That is how I joined my father, after all it is something that I have seen growing up…it is in the genes!”
Published – September 28, 2025 07:32 pm IST
