Kumartuli artisans downcast as idols stay behind

Babu Pal,joint secretary of the Kumartuli Mitishilpi Sanskrito Samity,said that nearly 15 idols are left with them out of the 4,300 made this year. He,however,blamed the idol makers for making nearly 60 extra idols this season.

The artisans,on the other hand,have a different take on this. According to them nearly 45 idols were left unsold. Some of these were not collected even as orders were placed. Madhab Pal,an idol maker,said that only three out of eight idols were sold from his place. He said that his family has been in this business for four generations,but they have never incurred such loss as this year. Another artisan,Joydeb Pal,also had similar views. Some of the clubs canceled their orders at the eleventh hour,which added to the losses of the artisans,he said.

Most of the leftover idols are usually preserved and sold next year. Though there are people like Madhab Pal who would immerse these idols and make fresh ones next year. Meanwhile,it can hardly be denied that Kumartuli this year has made a marginal profit,which stands nowhere when compared with previous years. Even the breakaway group,which had set up its own establishment,gives a similar report. The unskilled labourers reported that nearly 16 idols were left behind out of 66. These skilled and unskilled labourers were given shelter by the Pal family of Kumartuli for several months. These labourers hail from the country side. They are cultivators by profession but come here during the Puja season to make some extra money. These labourers were also disheartened by this year’s sell. Though the idols brought smile on everyone’s faces,their creators are still awaiting their deserved smile.

A green Mamata
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee,it seems,has become a nature conservationist,it seems. And maybe taking a cue from poet Rabindranath Tagore’s famous lines — Dao fire se aranya and loho e nagar (Let us return to nature leaving behind the jungle of concrete) Banerjee has urged people to adopt the Vedic age lifestyle when people lived in ashrams in forests and fed on fresh fruits and vegetables. In her article titled Prakiti Ma that was published in the puja edition of Trinamool’s mouthpiece Jago Bangla,she wrote: “A new band of looters of the nature have appeared and they are entering into business deal with others to earn profit.”

ENS