Days Before the Dhak

Before the dhak thunders through the streets, Durga Puja has a quieter rhythm. Clay being shaped. Brushes sweeping across a goddess's face. Bamboo and cloth becoming pandals.

Across India, the countdown is on. In Kolkata, artisans are putting the last touches on Durga idols while dhakis wait, drums ready, for the opening ceremony. Workers hang hoardings, and the city slips into its festive skin.

In Siliguri, Patna, Jabalpur and Akola, workshops turn clay into gods and goddesses. In New Delhi, craftsmen raise a pandal modelled on a rural gateway. In Mumbai, devotees are already carrying their goddess through the streets.

These are the days before the spectacle: unfinished idols, half-built pandals, wet paint, the first drumbeats. The festival is still being made by hand. The goddess is days away. The anticipation has already arrived.