Mixed tidings for idol artisans
In Old Dhaka's Northbrook Hall Road, right next to Bangla Bazar, stands Zamindar House.
Although the house has lost most of its charm, during Durga Puja however, the place brightens up with people working day and night, putting finishing touches on idols.
Depicting various shades of emotions on the sculptures is by no means an easy task. The artisans work for months before the puja to collect appropriate soil, then they mix it with hay and use bamboo sticks to frame it.
The idols are usually painted a week before the celebrations. However, some of the artisans have already started painting the idols.
During a recent visit, this correspondent saw Balai Pal marshalling troops of artisans to Zamindar House.
"Durga Puja is right around the corner. There is no scope for artisans to take a breather at this moment," he told this correspondent.
The sixty-year-old has been making idols for about five decades. Although he grew up in Savar, he moved to Shakhari Bazar before the Liberation War. Since his childhood, he saw his father and grandfather making idols and learnt the craft from them.
"Our business picks up during the puja season. We start working after having breakfast and it goes on throughout the night," he said.
Orders are taken two to three months in advance to make each idol. Depending on the size, design and quality, prices range from Tk 10,000 to Tk 2 lakh.
"However, we struggle during off-seasons when the celebrations are over," he said, on a rather depressing note.
Old Dhaka's Shakhari Bazar is famous for idol-making. Currently, four to five shops make such idols for puja.
This correspondent stopped in one such outlet to talk with artisan Paltan Pal.
He said the number of people making idols has decreased, mainly because of the lack of workers as the new generation is reluctant to enter this profession.
Sitting next to Paltan, another veteran artisan Haripada Pal said, "I am old and can no longer work like I used to. Due to the lack of workers, I could not make any idols."
According to the Mahanagar Sarbojanin Puja Committee, this year's Durga Puja will begin with Shashthi Puja on October 1 and end with Bijaya Dashami on October 5.
Mahindra Nath, president of the organisation, said, "There will be 241 puja mandaps in Dhaka, six more than last year."
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