Who owns Durga? - A Transitory Ownership of the Sacred Space

Exhibition Details: A presentation through 7-11 compiled and single images. Each of the pictures will portray and reflect on the chronological steps of the journey of idol Durga from her birthplace to the immersion ghat and back to the root of it all. And through this visual journey, I would like to focus and explain the diasporic transition of ownership from culture to economy and power and again to back to cultural realm.
Concepts and Ideologies: To introduce, Durga puja has been the biggest Hindu festival for the people, but on a cultural space, this has been the most cosmopolitan celebration ever where people from different places, languages and ethnic backgrounds come together and celebrate. Hence, it can be a religious figure of worship, but is an amalgamation of diversities of culture.
The journey of the Durga as an idol starts from its place of incarnation; the indigenous term for the place is ‘Kumortuli’ (the term kumor means the potter in English who are the curators of things made of clay) The Kumors are people who have been carrying over their generational occupation of earning livelihood by creating commodities out of clay. Hence, the concept of making things with clay comes much from the cultural background since clay products are important cultural artefacts. Tracing back to the Durga Puja history, Durga was also worshipped by the royal families at the very beginning. For them, this has been a symbol of cultural practice. So, Idols made by the kumors have always been a cultural product at first. Now through the rise of the capitalism around, this Durga has gradually shifted from its state of cultural object or product to a mere commodity. This transformation of an object to a commodity has been reflected by George Simmel where he has mentioned how an object when is attached or referred more for its economic value over its cultural value, transforms into a commodity.
Through the historical evolution, Durga Puja gradually turned into a ‘sarbojanin’ and ‘baroari’ (for everyone) from being a complete royal family celebration. Here, I would like to focus on the part where the idol as a product/object is turning out to be a commodity through the process of its exchange. Karl Marx in his theory of Commodity Fetishism has reflected on this transition of an object to a commodity. According to him, when an object by its properties fulfils a human need turns out to be a commodity. The Durga idol was previously just a cultural artefact or excellence when it was limited within the hands of the royal families. This process later on turned out to be a tool of cultural distribution, inclusion of every person irrespective of capability to be a part of it when it turned out to be ‘baroari’ and ‘sarbojanin’. Hence, Durga here has a gradual transformation from being an object to a commodity.
By far, this has been a very positive and progressive transition path for the Durga as a cultural symbol. However, behind this apparent progressive transition, lies a gruesome and intrinsic power shift. Fetishism, as explained by Marx is the attribution of inherent value of the object. Now the people who are holding the onus of Durga puja as a ‘sarbojanin’ celebration are the local clubs and stakeholders who are the leading and active members of political paradigms. Hence, the fetishism of commodity as reflected in this transitional journey of idol Durga lies maximum on its exchange value than its use value. The ones holding the ‘sarbojanin’ Durga puja have gone way beyond the concept of the art form and its cultural relevance. The billboards, promotional and hoardings have overshadowed very profusely the blood, sweat, creativity and adversity of the ones who have created it.
As the festivity continues, the last day of the occasion is the immersion day of the idol when the idols are immersed into the holy waters of Ganges. After the immersion, the wooden infrastructures of the idols are again stacked back to its origin place, the kumortuli. Through this elongated process of hegemonic shift and transition of Durga as an Idol to Durga as Merchandise, the whole process can be reflected through the four phases of commodity types given by Jacques Maquet. At the very first phase, Durga as an idol is the commodity by destination, gradually transforms to commodities by metamorphosis, followed by commodities by diversion and finally to the ultimate state of ex-commodities.

Methods: Being a keen photography enthusiast, I have always found endless connections and hidden stories in pictures. For this observation, I have chosen to apply visual methodology (still photography) to reflect upon my proposed articulation. My photo display primarily reflecs on the transitional journey of Durga as an idol from being a cultural artefact to an economic-political tool of power through transitioning ownership and its pre-destined return to its incarnation place as the social life of an object in an unending loop.