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In the morning, I took the metro south to visit the Kali Temple. The desk clerk had told me that the temple was close to the metro exit and would be easy to find.
India 2002 - Part Five: Calcutta
Dougburnett2003-11-24 12:23:15
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that had been placed on the counter for that purpose.
I headed back to the metro for a trip up to the Central Cottage Industries Emporium near my hotel. It was a government run craft shop with fixed prices. Most Indian cities of any size will have one and, while the prices are a little higher then in the streets, they offer a wide selection of Indian crafts - one-stop shopping.
After looking at the stuff, I decided to wait until I checked some of the shops at the New Market before parting with any cash. On the way, I stopped at the Oberoi Grand Hotel where I had an excellent, if somewhat expensive, Thai lunch with several waiters hovering around me.
I stopped at a few more shops around the Oberoi and bought more gifts before I headed over to the New Market to continue shopping. It was about four by the time I got back to the hotel to drop off my packages.
While I had been preparing for my trip, I had read an article about the clay image-makers who live in Calcutta's northern suburbs. Apparently, people commission these artisans to make straw and clay models of Hindu gods, which are brightly painted and fully clothed. Along with the article, there was a picture of some half-finished images that I printed. There was something evocative about the picture and I decided to try to find these craftsmen, if I had the time. I had also been warned by one of my Internet informants that the period when images are made would be over, but I decided to go have a look anyway.
I showed the picture of the image-makers to the desk clerk. Yes, he knew where they were. He suggested I show it to a taxi driver. In fact, every taxi driver I showed the picture to just shook his head no. I was disheartened: none seemed to know where I wanted to go and it was after four - soon, even if I did find them, there wouldn't be enough light to take any pictures.
...
See photographs from:
India Gallery
