This is how the idols are first give form and shape. Over this, the potters use clay to get the final figure.

Potters use clay to get the final figure.

Potters coating the dry grass with clay to make at Kumartuli, Kolkata's potters colony

Workers putting finishing touches to a statue at Kumartuli, Kolkata's potters colony

Amid the hustle and bustle of potters making claying idols and tourists gawking at them, this old man manages to catch some sleep.

Idols being left to dry in the sun at Kumartuli, Kolkata's potters colony

A finished idol at Kumartuli, Kolkata's potters colony.

Kolkata has some really grand old buildings, many of them in a sad state of disrepair. This building is at the end of the lane in Kumartuli, the potters colony in Kolkata.