"The Sundarbans comprise some of the world’s largest mangrove forests in the deltas formed by the rivers Hooghly, Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna flowing into the Bay of Bengal. Spanning over 10,000 sq km across West Bengal and Bangladesh, it is home to four UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including Sundarbans National Park in West Bengal. Known as the home of the Royal Bengal Tiger, the Sundarbans are also home to over 450 bird, fish, mammal, and reptile species. Environmentally, the forests are critical to both West Bengal and Bangladesh, because they act as buffers against the fierce tropical cyclones born in the Bay of Bengal. Faced with depleting forests owing to natural disasters and climate change, the West Bengal government has ordered a massive plantation drive in the region, with the Forest Department planting more than 200 million saplings of mangrove and related species from 2020-22. The two principal districts covered by the Sundarbans, North and South 24 Parganas, are easily accessible from Kolkata by road. Once in the Sundarbans, water transport is the best way to travel, with the Tourism Department offering overnight river cruises on their vessels." Without exception, traditional styles tend to be heavily Indian, with little or no Western influences. Facial and physical features are often exaggerated to highlight expressions. Around the idol-making workshops, countless smaller stalls sell craft decorations, ornaments and weapons for the idols in gold and silver foil, glittering ‘zari’ and brocade, white shola, or even thermocol.