Difficulty: Challenger (Level 2)
Millions of people in Kolkata, a city in eastern India, celebrated the Hindu festival of Durga Puja earlier this month.
They had street parties and prayed to statues. The event’s focus is on the skilfully crafted idols and temporary temples that have been commissioned by community clubs.
The old is now mixing with the new and hi-tech, as popular artificial intelligence (AI) apps help create new design ideas.
“Artisans are now using artificial intelligence to find new designs, helping them to stay updated,” said Monti Paul, who is a potter.
Paul, 70, learned his craft from his father. He works in the old part of the city, where they have been making idols for centuries.
Some of the community clubs that hire artists like Paul now use AI apps to turn their ideas into detailed images.
“They give us pictures of idols from ChatGPT,” Paul said. “We then try to create the designs of the idols as the organisers wish.”
