Mymensingh gears up for Durga Puja
For the past two years, Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Bengali Hindu community, had lost its colours to the pandemic.
With Covid-19 wreaking havoc on people's lives and livelihoods and festivities put on hold on safety grounds, the artisans of Mymensingh found themselves sitting idle for most of the Puja season, resulting in financial hardships.
But, after a long wait, artisans are now passing busy hours ahead of Durga Puja, to begin from October 11.
"The pandemic put a serious strain on the workers financially, and many resorted to other kinds of work for survival. But this year, they are set to get Tk 50,000 to Tk 60,000 from their ancestral profession by working for three months," said 82-year-old Nikhil Chandra Pal, an artisan based at the city's Dharmashala Temple area.
"I took orders for eight idols from Mymensingh, Jamalpur and Kishoreganj, and the rate is between Tk 20,000 and Tk 40,000. Cost of necessary items to make idols is higher than previous years though," said Shambhu Das, proprietor of "Sajib Mrittika Shilpalaya", situated on the city's Rambabu Road.
As the Covid-19 situation further improves, workers will be able to earn more on occasions of Basanti Puja, Ganga Puja, Ganesh Puja, and other festivals occurring round the year, said 73-year-old artisan Subol Pal from Netrakona's Kalmakanda upazila.
At the same time, the business of rhythmic instrument makers has also bounced back after the pandemic.
"We are expecting more puja mandaps in Mymensingh and its adjacent districts this year, and so the orders we got so far is satisfactory,"
said Gopal Chandra Das, a young instrument maker from the city's Boro Kalibari area.
"It is our ancestral profession. We also continued the venture on a small scale during the pandemic as these instruments are used in various religious performances of the Hindus," said Gopal.
"As both charges and orders have increased this year, we hope for a better income this season," said Ujjol Kumar Das of Nobab & Co at the city's Boro Bazar area.
A worker can earn around Tk 30,000 preparing for the occasion of Durga Puja, said Rezaul Karim Aslam, proprietor of Nobab & Co.
However, the making and repairing charges haven't changed compared to the previous years, according to Sandu Das of Samir & Co of Boro Bazar.
Currently, a dhak is being sold at Tk 6,500 to Tk 10,000, a khol at Tk 2,000 to Tk 5,000 and a dholok at Tk 2,200 to Tk 4,500.
Meanwhile, the price of a khol (mridanga) ranges between Tk 3,200 and Tk 4,000, and a Bangla dhol between Tk 4,500 and Tk 7,000, depending on size and quality, according to sources.
An 83-year-old Narayan Chandra Das shared that he came to Mymensingh with his parents as a little boy from Manikganj and has been continuing this ancestral profession of making instruments to this day.
Though the business faced a serious blow amid the pandemic, Narayan sees a bright prospect for this profession, as more people are getting interested in the roots of the country's traditions and culture and contributing to its expansion.
Some 784 mandaps of the district are ready to celebrate Durga Puja this year, and the local administration has taken necessary security measures for the premises, said Shankar Saha, organising secretary of the district's Puja Utjapon Parishad.
The mandap committees have already been asked to ensure health guidelines like maintaining social distance, and arranging facilities for sanitising hands and wearing masks, Shankar said.
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