Durga idols at Kumartuli, the hub of idol-making in north Kolkata, are sold out as most artisans, taking lessons from last year’s losses, decided against making idols that were not pre-ordered.
On Sunday, a number of puja organisers toured the lanes of Kumartuli looking for their last-minute buys. Many have been doing so for the last few days.
But most of them had to return empty-handed.
“Ei bochhor aar kono thakur nei. (This year there aren't any idols left). All idols have been booked,” said Babu Pal, an artisan of Kumartuli and secretary of the Kumartuli Mritshilpi Sanskritik Samity.
This year Kumartuli saw just a little over 3,000 idols being made by 360-odd artisans working across 120-odd studios. In the pre-pandemic times, close to 5,000 would be churning out idols.
Artisans said the drop in numbers was a reflection of the changing times. Most puja organisers are severely cash-strapped and many have ordered idols from nearby hubs to save on transportation costs.
Between May and July, most artisans had no bookings. The wait seemed endless.
Till early August, several organisers were not sure whether sponsors would come forward this year.
A near-empty studio Bishwarup Dutta
By the time the budgets were drawn up, all of them realised the cost of idols can range between Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000, not Rs 1 lakh-plus like earlier years.
In Kumartuli, the bookings started to trickle around late August.
“Earlier, we would start working on idols from end-April. By May and June, a number of old customers would place their orders. This time most orders came so late that we couldn’t take chances with new ones,” said Minakshi Pal, an artisan who has turned down a number of fresh bookings over the past few days.
Many organisers said they had never seen Kumartuli run out of idols and artisans refusing last-minute bookings.
“We visited Kumartuli on Saturday to book a partly finished idol for our puja. We have done it in the past. This time we found none,” said an organiser of a Durga Puja committee from Uttar Panchhannagram, a locality behind Ruby Hospital.
Till 2019, last-minute buying of Durga idols was an accepted norm in Kumartuli with several artisans keeping a few of their idols partly finished for latecomers.
“Even last year some of us had prepared a few half-made idols hoping for last-minute bookings. Almost all of those remained unsold,” said Mintu Pal, a veteran artisan. “This year everyone has decided to play safe.”