COURTESY HONOLULU ACADEMY OF ARTS Master sculptor Nemai Chandra Paul works on the clay sculpture depicting the adventures of the goddess Durga, to be the showpiece of a Honolulu Academy of Arts exhibit of images of the goddess.

Wonder Woman

The heroic Indian goddess Durga
inspires an exhibition
of divine images

SO you're a woman who works full-time, doubles as a mom who chauffeurs the kids to soccer and ballet, whips up dinner, cleans the house, does the laundry, AND triples as a wife with enough spark at the end of the day to welcome her husband to bed wearing a slinky nightgown and a wicked smile.

'Durga: The Great Goddess Revealed' An exhibit of stone, marble, bronze, wood, clay and painted images from across India that depicts the goddess Durga: On view: Through Dec. 5 Place: Honolulu Academy of Arts. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays Admission: $7; $4 seniors, students and military; children 12 free. Call: 532-8700

And you look good in that nightgown, too. You know what? Big deal.

Try this one on for size, Superwoman: Imagine being just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill Indian goddess who's married to an Indian god and raising four little gods and goddesses. They're quite a handful; in fact, one of them takes the form of an elephant, which makes keeping things out of reach quite the challenge.

You think your life is already maxed out, but you don't know the half of it. One day you're called upon by all your husband's peers to battle a demon not only bent on ruling Earth, but in taking over the heavens by killing all of them, as well. They each give you some of their power and a weapon, and endow you with eight arms to hold all those thunderbolts, bows, arrows, tridents and darts.

Thus pumped up, you leave the heavens and come back to Earth -- with children in tow, no less -- upon the back of a lion, to take on this demon. Talk about multitasking. Now THIS is a Big Deal.

Don't feel bad, Superwoman. After all, you're only human. This female is the ancient Hindu goddess Durga, protectress of all living things on Earth, a warrior who is stronger than any singular god. Durga is indeed so fabulous that she has been commemorated for centuries in India with annual 10-day fall festivals that throw the entire country into celebration.

Thanks to the Honolulu Academy of Arts, we mere mortals of the west can get a good look-see at this heroine, in "Durga: The Great Goddess Revealed," an exhibit of Durga images that runs through Dec. 5. The academy is also holding various music, film, lecture and festival events that run in conjunction with the exhibit, and will display a sculpture of Durga built on-site using traditional techniques.

The Indian festivals celebrate the outcome of Durga's confrontation with the seemingly invincible Mahishasura, who took the path of evil after he was granted a boon that no man or deity could kill him. By the time Durga meets up with Mahishasura, he has terrorized and killed countless humans, and the Earth and heavens are in chaos.

Mahishasura takes the form of the evil buffalo demon in his battle with Durga. But with the aid of her children -- Ganesha, the elephant god, who removes obstacles; Laxmi, the goddess of prosperity; Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge; and Kartikeya, the god of valor --Durga defeats Mahishasura.

COURTESY HONOLULU ACADEMY OF ARTS "Sadasiva and Kali," a watercolor by an unknown Punjab artist of the 1800s, depicts the eight-armed Durga (sometimes called Kali) ready for battle.

A VITAL FACET of Durga festivals each year is the construction of a Durga image and a structure called a pandal, which houses the image during the 10 days of celebration. Neighborhoods get together to create the often elaborately design and intricately adorned structures.

As for the image itself, master craftsmen -- some of whom can trace their lineage to sculptors of the early 18th century, when the festivals became major national events -- create stunning pieces that tell the story of Durga's triumph over evil.

Manu Chakravartty, a docent at the academy, says the different regions of India depict Durga diversely, perhaps using different materials to construct their images. "But for everyone, the festival celebrates good over evil, and the underlying factor is invoking Durga."

To round out the academy's presentation of Durga, master craftsmen from West Bengal are constructing a pandal on the academy grounds, along with a beautiful sculpture of eight-armed Durga and her children defeating Mahishasura. Academy visitors are welcome to watch the construction, which is scheduled to be complete by Oct. 17.

As with many things spiritual, the process of creating Durga's image is laden with symbolism. It is important, for instance, that the composition of clay for West Bengal sculptures reflect the concept of inclusiveness.

"The festival is for everyone -- all castes, all creeds, all religions," Chakravartty explains.

The clay for the academy's sculpture serves as a good example of how this is achieved. Academy staffers were instructed by the crafters to gather earth from a prostitute's house to add to the clay mixture. They lucked out when they found a construction site at a corner on Hotel Street where prostitutes patrol. Thus, Hawaii's Durga image will indeed embody the true spirit of the festival.

Chakravartty also stresses that it's important to use only natural products to construct the image, because in India after the festival concludes, the image is immersed in a nearby river or ocean.

"It's that concept of earth-to-earth," she says.

And while the image here won't be immersed at the end of the academy's Durga run (it will instead be added to the academy's Indian collection), it is being made by master sculptors with all natural materials, albeit with a bit more reinforcement. The base of the sculpture is constructed by shaping rice straw-bound with jute string and covered with a red California clay mix.

The piece is then left to dry in the open air. No kiln is used for this type of sculpture. As the clay dries, it develops cracks. Clay from the Ganges River, which is extremely fine, is then used to fill in the cracks and smooth over the piece.

COURTESY HONOLULU ACADEMY OF ARTS A clay sculpture depicting the Snake Goddess is under construction.

By yesterday, with the sculpting perfected and the image having dried, Durga will have been painted. The last step is painting her eyes. Called "The Opening of the Eyes," it begins the process of bringing spirit to the image.

By Wednesday, Durga will be fully dressed and bejeweled. On Thursday, considered the first day of the 10-day festival, comes the invocation, complete with drummers, dancers and chanters who will invoke the spirit of the goddess.

The Supreme Mother of all Superwoman is officially in the house.

Then, says Chakravartty, the Day of Victory is celebrated.

Snake goddess' tale told
in sculpture

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Also on display at the Honolulu Academy of Arts for the Durga festival are elaborate clay sculptures depicting famous Indian tales, created on-site by master potters from West Bengal.

One work tells the story of a proud king who would not pay homage to the snake goddess. One by one, the king's many sons die of snake bites, until one of the king's daughters-in-law decides to put an end to the tragedies.

She travels with her husband's corpse and endures various tribulations as penance for the king's pride. When the snake goddess rewards her by reviving her husband and his brothers, the village dedicates itself to revering the goddess.

The intricate piece includes images of various deities and is ornamented with dozens of snakes and leaves.

These works are made of wood fired with cow dung -- courtesy of a dairy in Waimanalo -- which turns the clay black.

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Joleen Oshiro, Star-Bulletin

'Durga: The Great Goddess Revealed'

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All events take place at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Call 532-8700:

Gallery discussions
Held in the Indian Gallery and Durga exhibit, followed by tea and snacks; 2:30 p.m. tomorrow through Saturday. To register: 532-8726.

Indian classical dance performance
By the Jyoti Kala Mandir College of Indian Classical Arts; 7:30 p.m. Friday, Doris Duke Theatre. Cost: $15; $10 seniors, students.

"Where the Goddess Dwells: Making Images for Ma Durga"
Susan Bean, curator of South Asian art at the Peabody Essex Museum, discusses contemporary Indian craftsmen and their role in constructing images, 7 p.m. Saturday, Doris Duke Theatre; free.

Workshop on Indian music, dance and song
Held on Saturday in the Education Wing lecture hall. Cost per half-day is $60; full day is $100. Call 532-8726 to register.

» Introduction to Classical Indian Vocals, Drums and Dance, 9 a.m. to noon

» Journey with Indian Ragas (tunes), Tal (rhythms) and Bhangi (movement), 2 to 5 p.m.

"Where in the World? India!"
Free tribute to Indian culture; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 17. Highlights: art projects for children, henna hand painting, sari-wrapping demonstrations, performances by Indian musicians and dancers.

Films at the Doris Duke Theatre
Tickets are $5:

» "I Have Found It," 7:30 p.m. tonight and tomorrow

» "The Lady of the House," 1 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and 1 p.m. Thursday