A 5.5-foot-tall Kolkata Durga idol made from around 13,000 recycled pens and 13,000 recycled-plastic refills will be displayed at Tridhara Sammelani during Durga Puja, presenting an alternative use for everyday plastic stationery through art and product design.
The installation has been created by artist Chandra Nath Saha, known as Tilak, with support from Link Limited and its Pentonic pen brand. According to the report, the artwork is approximately 5.5 feet high, 4.5 feet wide and 3 feet deep.
The company said the initiative aims to bring together art, design and environmental awareness by transforming a commonly used writing instrument into a large-scale cultural installation. Thousands of pens have been assembled to create the form of Goddess Durga, giving a routine consumer product a new visual and functional context.
The installation will be placed alongside Tridhara Sammelani’s main Durga idol. It will not replace the traditional idol used for the puja. The main idol will be immersed according to the customary practice, while the pen-based artwork will be retained after the festival.
The reported plan is to dismantle the artwork after Durga Puja and recycle the materials used in it. The recycled material is intended to be used in the production of new pens, creating a stated cycle from consumer product to artwork and back to a manufactured product.
Deepak Jalan, managing director of Link Limited, said the project would give people an opportunity to view familiar objects differently. He described the movement from pens to artwork and then to new products as an illustration of the possibilities of recycling and creative design.
Artist Chandra Nath Saha said using an everyday object to create a representation of Goddess Durga was a distinct experience and challenge. He said the purpose was not only to focus attention on the appearance of the artwork but also on the materials used to make it.
The project places recycled plastic within one of Kolkata’s most visible public cultural settings. Its eventual dismantling and planned recycling will determine whether the installation functions only as a temporary display or also demonstrates how discarded consumer materials can be incorporated into a repeatable design and manufacturing process. The artwork is scheduled to remain at Tridhara Sammelani alongside the main Durga Puja installation, with recycling planned after the festival.
