Incarnations of I

After decades of upholding the deeply rooted worship of a Hindu goddess, a Bengali American woman mines the generational trauma hidden behind her family’s relationship to this religious practice. Both in the States and in India, she discovers that the very act of creating and revering clay sculptures of the goddess may be the key to letting go of long-held pain—laying bare our human need to create, to heal, and to be loved.

In 1983, a Bengali-American family began replicating an age-old tradition in their New Jersey home, both to honor their ancestors and Hindu faith and, perhaps unknowingly, to cope with their sacrifices. A ten-armed, six-foot tall goddess—sculpted by hand—still stands in their basement as a symbol of their immigrant journey and a vessel for their prayers.

The narrative follows the core family, especially father and daughter, as they offer their perspectives on a 40-year religious observance called Durga Puja, which has been a focal point in their lives. While their story unfolds, we simultaneously follow the three artisans who were drawn to the ancient craft out of a compulsion uncannily similar to family whose story is our lens.

The film’s subjects echo each other in their steadfast faith, meticulous labor, and collective hurt. What begins as a documentary about an art form, slowly exposes its humanity. The viewer realizes the film is, in fact, a deep exploration of how art and religion transform pain within a culture that demands privacy and secrecy. Ultimately, we find hope as the artisans reveal, often for the very first time, their hidden truths and attempt to break cycles of generational trauma.

The estimated number of people suffering from depression in India according to one study is 56.7 million. This staggering number excludes the Indian diaspora around the world. In Incarnations of I, Hindu traditions and art forms provide the framework for an exploration of mental health that is as visually stunning as it is layered and complex. The narrator and other subjects share their innermost thoughts about faith, grief, trauma, and identity, setting the tone for a film that unfolds like the pages of a diary. While hard truths emerge, Incarnations of I celebrates healing amid the beauty and chaos of worship.

In 2021, West Bengal's Durga Puja was recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage. The annual Hindu festival generates between $3 million and $4 million. However, the world knows little about the artisans at the heart of the religious celebration. For centuries, the creation and worship of the Hindu goddess Durga in Kolkata, India has been the work of men of specific castes in a specific area. To this day, male sculptors live and work in a designated artisan community or potters’ quarter called Kumortuli in Kolkata, India. However, we are witnessing a revivalist movement amongst those very people outside the traditional artisan community.