On a bamboo platform inside his cluttered studio, 68-year-old Padma Shri awardee Sanatan Rudra Pal bends over an unfinished idol of Durga. His hand, steady despite age and ailments, carefully draws the eyes of the goddess — the moment Bengalis call chokkhu daan, the giving of sight. To him, this is not just artistry, but battle.
“During the puja, I am a soldier on the battlefield,” he says with quiet ferocity, medicines tucked beside him to fight the frailties of age. Meals, rest, even sleep are all sacrificed to clay.
Last year, the nation’s highest civilian recognition in art — the Padma Shri — was conferred on Pal for his contribution to Bengal’s clay culture. He accepts the honour not with pride but with the weight of accountability. “It is not arrogance,” he explains, “but responsibility has increased. The demand for excellence has grown.”
This year, Pal is sculpting 50 to 60 idols, some destined for prestigious Kolkata pujas such as College Square, Ekdalia and Shimla Byayam Samiti, while others travel to Assam, Asansol, Cooch Behar — and even New Jersey, where two fiber idols will grace overseas celebrations. With every commission, the expectations swell. “If someone pays two lakh rupees, I must give that quality. But if another pays less, I cannot let their goddess be neglected. All must leave satisfied,” he says firmly.
For all the fame, Pal refuses to crown himself a celebrity. Yet puja organisers clamour for his touch. Committees vie to have a Padma Shri sculpt their Thakur, knowing the reputation his name lends. The economics have shifted too — prices climb as his signature becomes a mark of prestige. “I worked with the same devotion before,” he notes, “but now, every moment of work demands sharper attention.”
Though celebrated for his traditional idols, Pal also embraces the theme pujas that define Kolkata’s modern carnival of creativity. Yet, he insists the older form is more arduous. “A theme idol is guided by sketches, concepts and the vision of a designer. But the old idol — that is entirely in the sculptor’s hand. It requires finesse, patience and endless hours of labour. That is where the true test lies.”
Despite his laurels, Pal retains gratitude for those who commission his art. “The puja entrepreneurs do this with their own resources. Without them, we would not have work. I owe them a debt,” he says with humility rare in the world of celebrity artisans.
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He does not hesitate, however, to assign credit for Bengal’s global cultural recognition. The UNESCO inscription of Durga Puja, he says, owes much to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. “It is our pride as Bengalis. The Carnival, the foreign outreach — these have left an impression on the world. For that, I give credit to the Chief Minister,” Pal declares.
At 68, with illness shadowing his body but not his spirit, Sanatan Rudra Pal continues to sculpt clay into divinity. Each idol is more than art — it is his offering, his battle, his faith. And as the drumbeats of puja draw near, the soldier of Kumartuli fights on, armed only with clay, devotion and the steady strength of his hands.
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