19 October 2012Last updated at 00:29

In pictures: India celebrates Durga Puja

India is celebrating the annual Hindu festival of Durga Puja when the devout worship the goddess Durga. The biggest festivities are held in the eastern state of West Bengal.

For the nine-day festival, pandals - or temporary worship places - are set up. Some of the large ones are visited by several thousand people during the festival.

Statues of the goddess Durga and several other gods and goddesses, made of clay, are installed in the pandals.

The festival marks the victory of the goddess Durga over Mahisasur, the evil buffalo demon. Most Durga statues show the goddess with the vanquished demon at her feet.

The goddess is always shown astride her carrier, a lion, while killing the demon.

Most of the statues for the festival are made in the potter's colony of Kumartuli, a northern neighbourhood of Calcutta city.

Kumartuli's potters produce thousands of statues every year. Many of them are used in Calcutta, but thousands are sent across India and also exported to other countries.

The most important parts of a Durga statue are her eyes and trained artists take extreme care to make them look real and dramatic.

In recent times, artists have been experimenting with the way the statues look. Here, the goddess Durga and other statues are made in a style inspired by Chinese art.