An artist from Dhubri in Assam is going viral on the internet for making an idol of Goddess Durga by using strips of expired medicines, capsules and injection vials. Yes, you read that right. Artist Sanjib Basak won praises recently for his work, after the picture of the idol created by him was circulated all over the social media.
DURGA IDOL MADE WITH EXPIRED STRIPS OF TABLETS
Sanjib Basak wanted to express his solidarity with people and the frontline workers fighting the novel coronavirus outbreak. Sanjib, who is an employee of the Dhubri district administration, created the 6-feet tall Durga idol with the waste materials after he saw people queuing outside pharmacy shops to buy essential products.
Tablet by tablet, strip by strip, Assam-based artist Sanjib Basak burnt the midnight oil for nearly 60 days to create a glorious idol of Goddess Durga, using more than 30,000 capsules and syringes. pic.twitter.com/tW14gim3St
— (@Dheerajthakur00) October 22, 2020
Sanjib told ANI, "This year too, I've tried to make a unique idol. Since everyone is thinking about #COVID19 treatment, I decided to make the idol using medicines."
Sanjib told PTI, "During lockdown, I had observed that people were queuing up outside pharmaceutical shops to buy essential medicines in bulk. It was then the idea struck me that I could be making Maa Durga's idol with medicine strips to mark the pandemic."
However, in the beginning, he wasn't sure if he would be able to make the idol this year. "Initially, I was worried that I won't be able to make the idol this year due to work pressure and strict safety protocols. But I managed to create one with expired medicines. Paper, thermocol and board, among other things, were used to fix the medicine strips to a frame and create the idol," he said.
According to PTI, it took nearly five months and 40,000 strips of tablets, capsules and injection vials of different colours to give shape to his idea.