Usually by July, Kumartuli — the famed idol-makers’ colony in north Kolkata — turns into a tourist attraction, with amateur photographers and curious visitors clicking away at artisans giving shape to Goddess Durga.
But this year, it is the artisans who are looking out with curiosity from their deserted workshops, wondering if those walking into their settlement are customers or members of an NGO eager to help them. And not surprisingly, the visitors are more often volunteers bringing them essential supplies than customers.
Durga Puja, the largest and most eagerly-awaited festival of West Bengal, is just three months away — not a long time, considering the scale of celebrations — but Kumartuli presents a depressing sight, its artisans unsure of what the autumn of 2020 holds for them in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This year we are not even thinking of income. If we manage to stay alive, that should be enough,” Mintu Pal, a well-known artisan, told The Hindu .
Each idol of Goddess Durga comes as a set that also includes smaller idols of her four children — Ganesha, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Kartik — and the demon she is slaying. Kumartuli makes close to 5,000 sets every year and work begins mid-April.
“By this time of the year, we usually receive more than 60% of our orders, but this year we have got not even 30%. And those who have already placed orders want smaller idols this time. Clearly, people have slashed their budgets. Not only do they lack money but they also seem to be unsure whether [the COVID-19 situation] will end by Durga Puja [which begins on October 22],” Mr. Pal said.
Doubtful orders
China Pal, a female artisan, said that in spite of the number of orders remaining very small this year, she is still turning down customers who are not well-known to her. “What is the point in taking orders when I don’t even know how things are going to turn out? I don’t want to make idols and then let them rot in the godown. That’s what happened with so many idols of Goddess Annapurna, Sheetala, Kali and Lord Ganesha I had made [for smaller festivals] just before COVID-19 struck. Customers could not come to collect them and the idols stood in my godown, only to be destroyed by [cyclone] Amphan,” Ms. Pal told The Hindu .
“Whether Durga Puja will be held this year or not, only Goddess Durga knows,” said Ms. Pal, who earned fame in 2018 when she participated in an art festival in China. Her name, however, has nothing to do with the visit and she has always been known as China.
Pinch of GST
The blow of the pandemic feels even harder for the idol-makers because in 2020 they were looking forward to getting more work, having felt the pinch of GST (Goods and Services Tax) last year. In 2019, they paid almost double for raw materials but were unable to pass on the burden to customers because idols are exempt from GST, as a result of which many of them hardly made any profit.
