We briefed the namesake deity of Kalighat itself with the dignity she demands and the patua restraint the form rewards: deep-blue Kali standing frontal in her dakshina aspect, sword in one hand and lotus in another, two palms turned to blessing and boon. A centred-frontal stack gives her the temple's symmetry, the red tongue and the garland of marigolds and small severed heads marking her terrible-tender duality without melodrama. Her flowing black hair and tiered crown rise above; the brick-red dhoti is the only warm mass against the blue. We left the ground plain so her four arms and steady gaze hold the whole picture — the very goddess whose temple gave this art its name. Boneless shading rounds her limbs and the curl of her hair.