Ahmed, who hails from Guwahati’s Kahilipara area, had built a 98-feet-tall idol out of bamboo during Durga Puja in September 2017 at a pandal in Bishnupur, Guwahati — a feat that had grabbed plenty of attention even then. “While most people appreciated my work and did not disturb me, some would often ask me if my ‘dharma’ conflicted with my work,” says Ahmed. “But where does religion come into the picture? Xilpi’r kunu dharma nai (Artistes do not have any religion).”
Forty people — of various faiths, including Hindus and Muslims — worked together in September 2017 to build the gargantuan idol that nearly a lakh flocked to Bishnupur to see. Made completely out of baah (bamboo), a material found in abundance through Assam, Ahmed’s Durga idol was built in seven days flat.
“We had actually taken forty days to build it — it was ready by September 17. However, a big storm destroyed it a week before Durga Puja and we had to rebuild from scratch,” says Ahmed. The five-day festival is one of the most important in eastern India, especially in West Bengal, Assam, Orissa and Tripura and marked by elaborate pandals made under artistic supervision.
Ahmed is also involved in the art direction of the biggest pandals in Guwahati including the ones at the Rehabari and Bharalamukh localities. “I used bamboo for the idol because the material is intrinsic to Assam and the Assamese people — I wanted to promote it,” he says.
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