Born blind in both eyes, the artisan from West Bengal has been travelling for nearly 25 years with his family to Baburhawa village in eastern Uttar Pradesh's Basti district, where he spends about six months every year in Chhawani area creating idols of Goddess Durga and Lord Ganesha for the festive season

Drik Panchang's 2026 Durga Puja calendar describes the festival as a five-day observance comprising Shashthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and Vijayadashami. Its Mumbai Panchang separately lists Durga Ashtami and Maha Navami on October 19 and Durga Visarjan and Dussehra on October 20