Demonetisation impacts size of Ganesha idols

This year orders are not encouraging, say artists from Kolkata

August 12, 2017 01:05 am | Updated 01:05 am IST - VISAKHAPATNAM

New reality  Artists from West Bengal giving finishing touch to eco-friendly Ganesha idols in Visakhapatnam .

New reality Artists from West Bengal giving finishing touch to eco-friendly Ganesha idols in Visakhapatnam .

Tucked inside a congested by-lane of Allipuram, one of the oldest localities of the city, deft hands mould clay to give shape to divine forms. For nearly two decades now, Binayak Pal and Poltu Pal have brought Kolkata’s ancient tradition of clay idols to the city. With the Ganesh Chaturthi and Dasara festivities round the corner, the Pals along with their team of 15 workers are a busy lot. But this year, the dark alleys of their workshop wear a gloomy look. Even after eight months of the Centre’s demonetisation move, the impact is being felt on this year’s festivities as the team of quintessential idol-makers of West Bengal struggle with lower demand and rising cost of raw materials.

“It’s not that orders aren’t coming in. But almost in every order, we have to make certain compromises. The festival committees this year have lower budgets than the previous years as the corporate sponsorships and donations have dropped due to demonetisation. Because of this, we have to invariably lower the cost of idols which is turning out to be a huge setback on our small margins,” Binyak says. The artisans, who arrive here in May, bring the clay from the banks of Ganges, jute ropes, natural colours and all other raw materials from Kolkata along with them. They stay in the city till the last day of Dasara festivity before heading back home.

“Last year, we had received at least 10 orders for big idols by this time and made over 230 smaller ones. In contrast this year we hardly managed to get four orders for big Ganeshas. The overall market sentiments don’t seem good so we are playing it safe and restricting ourselves to 200 small sized idols this year,” says Poltu.

The size of the clay idols, too, has come down from 14 feet last year to nine-and-a-half feet this year.

“We are left with no choice but to scale down production. The cost of jute ropes has gone up to ₹ 92 per kg as against ₹ 80 last year while cost of clay too has gone up by 30 %. Even other raw materials like bamboo and straw costs have soared,” say artisans. But prices of idols are not in keeping with escalating costs.

The money they make during this season sustains them through the rest of the year.

“Every year, we end up keeping a ‘sold out’ board outside, two weeks ahead of the festival. This year, the situation seems grim. We don’t know how much exactly our business will be impacted but less income during the festive season means lower our living standards for the rest of the year,” rues Binayak Pal.

The team of idol-makers, however, have little time to spend worrying about the future.

“We have to go about our work hoping that the hardwork pays off,” says the artistes as they toil from 6 in the morning till midnight every day.

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