![]() For some she is the epitome of matri-shakti (maternal strength) – strong but calm like the sky and a kind protector, like a mother who protects her children… for others, her image signifies the destroyer of evils, wild and intense like the ocean. I once asked my mother why is Maa Kali black in some places and blue in others? My mother replied, "It is how the creator of the statue wants to portray her that defines her body colour. Our Kali, unlike the new one at the British Museum, was blue. To me, Kali-pujo was an amalgamation of incense, lights and homecoming. My mother and aunts used to help with the khichuri bhog (food offering). I saw my grandmother, pious and devoted to the pujo, fasting for two days before offering prayers to Maa Kali. In my father’s ancestral house, we used to hold Kali-pujo (a worship ritual celebrating the Goddess Kali) with our huge extended family and it was a jubilant and joyous occasion. Maa (Mother) Kali, is the name that brings back memories of my childhood from the town of Jalpaiguri in India. This blog, written by members of the London Durgotsav Committee, will reflect on their own personal connections to the Goddess Kali and how they feel about this new Kali icon being at the British Museum. ![]() ![]() The committee also generously allowed the Museum to take part in and film the 2021 Camden Kali Puja ceremony in London. The exhibition takes a cross-cultural look at the profound influence of female spiritual beings within global religion and faith and the LDC Committee’s expert insights and personal perspectives enabled the Museum to create a nuanced, richer cultural understanding of the enduring nature and contemporary relevance of the Goddess Kali today. Members of the London Durgotsav committee acted as community consultants to the Museum during the development of the Feminine power : the divine to the demonic exhibition. Made by renowned artist Kaushik Ghosh in Calcutta, India, the Kali icon was the product of a wonderful collaboration between the Museum and a collective of devotees from the London Durgotsav Committee. In January 2022 the British Museum welcomed the arrival of a newly commissioned Murti or icon of the Goddess Kali.
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