Sambalpur: Advocate in Profession, Passion for making Maa Durga Idols Since 40 years

Sambalpur: Says “My Lord” in the court. The case is fought either for or against the accused because the profession is lawyer but passion is making idols, anyone will be amazed at the magic of his hand. Making pearls out of clay was his passion. This passion has given Surendra Mohanty, a well-known senior lawyer of Sambalpur city, a unique identity. When the festive season approaches, he is engaged in making the Maa Durga murti. Not for a year or two, but for nearly 40 years, he took time out from his professional life to make Mother’s murti.

Mr. Mohanty, a resident of Badabazar, Sambalpur city, is a successful and well-known lawyer. A senior member of the Bar Association makes murti for the Durga Puja of the Badabazaar Saheb Bangla Puja Committee every year. According to Mr. Mohanty, he was interested in making murti from his school days. He was trained by Hari Patel of Badabazar. While studying at the college level, he was also awarded for making murti at the national level at the youth festival. During school and college, he excelled in making different types of murti of Ganesh, and Saraswati in clay, and that passion is still there, he says.

While he has been making Maa Durga’s Murti for the Saheb Bangla Puja Committee for many years, he also bears the expenses himself. For more than 40 years, he has been making murti and giving it to the committee during Durga Puja. He said that in his life he would have continued to make such murti in dozens, but this passion of Mr. Mohanty has given him a different identity.