Durga Puja: Kolkata’s Kumartuli potters struggle for survival amid Covid-19

With Durga Puja less than two weeks away, idol makers of Kolkata’s iconic Kumartuli (potters’ neighbourhood) are clueless as to how they will survive the major loss that they have suffered due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Usually, idol-making starts at Kumartuli in full swing in September but this year work has picked up a bit of pace only at the beginning of October.

The situation is such that nearly 500 potters at Kumartuli are unsure how will continue to stay in the business of idol making after suffering such a huge loss.

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Speaking to DH, joint Secretary of Kumartuli Mritshilpi Sanskritik Samiti, a major organisation of potters, Ranjit Sarkar said that the pandemic had hit the potters on several grounds.

Sarkar said that due to the lack of sponsorship following the nationwide lockdown, several large and medium Durga Puja organisers either cancelled their orders or opted for smaller idols.

While, last year, on average a Kumartuli artist earned about Rs.60,000 by selling a 10 or 14 feet tall idol, this year the artist was barely earning Rs. 13,000 by selling a five feet idol— the artists are left with very little or no profit.

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"The pace of work at Kumartuli has picked up the pace a little bit but overall it's a disaster for us. Yes, we are selling some idols but at a great loss. It's just a desperate effort to survive,” said Sarkar.

The skilled and unskilled workers who come to Kumartuli from far-flung villages of West Bengal to work under the artists also lost a significant portion of their livelihood because fewer artists were hired owing to reduced orders.

It's not just the pandemic but Cyclone Amphan, which in May resulted in a double whammy for Kumartuli idol makers.

The cramped studios and godowns at Kumartuli provided little protection against the storm and a large number of them were reduced to piles of clay, said an artist at Kumartuli.