Clay and culture: The making of Durga idols

In a tarpaulin-covered workshop near Lumbini Buddhist University, Ranjit Gupta’s hands are coated in black silty clay. Around him lie bamboo sticks, straw, and half-formed figures waiting to become divine gods. Children peek in, curious about the figures taking shape before their eyes. For Ranjit, this is not just work, it is devotion, a way of life passed down through his family for three generations.

Every year, during the festival of Navaratri, villages across the Terai transform into sacred spaces where clay idols of the goddess Durga become the center of devotion. Lumbini, globally renowned as a Buddhist pilgrimage site, during these nine days becomes the land of Shakti, where Hindu and Buddhist traditions share the same air.