Barely a week before Durga Puja, the artisans in north Kolkata’s Kumartuli — the name derived from the word kumor (potter) — are working without a break to ensure that the 10-armed goddess and her children reach the pandals on time. As they toil in dingy, cramped workshops, passers-by and hundreds of photo-hungry tourists interrupt their work.
The festival comes at the tail end of the monsoon and working with clay, which easily absorbs moisture, becomes doubly difficult. But the Puja committees don’t account for the extra money the artisans spend in acquiring fresh raw material.
Most of the potters in Kumartuli — having the surname ‘Pal’ — are from Nadia district. Even now, many helpers from Nadia come to Kolkata every year. The numbers have halved though. One of the main reasons behind this is employment under government schemes.
The less said about the working and living conditions of the artisans the better. The studios are cramped, making it impossible for two persons to walk side by side between the multiple rows of idols. Little wonder that the potters’ children are showing interest in professions that offer better pay and facilities.
Carrying Durga to the pandal through the narrow lanes of Kumartuli is a Herculean task. Some idols — the taller ones especially — are damaged while loading onto trucks.
Ashoke Chakrabarty