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Kumartuli in Kolkata is the largest clay modelers’ hub in India. When you take a walk down the lanes of the area, the sweet smell of clay idols fills your nostrils. It is believed that the air of Kumartuli is imbued with the auspiciousness of Maa Durga during this season.

Nearly 300 studios with over 1000 artisans earn their livelihood by making the Durga idols. Every year, they create about 10,000 such idols for various pandals in and around Kolkata.

Clay modeling is an occupation that this kumhars have taken up for generations spanning for more than 150 years. What they earn from the Pujo keeps their families going for the rest of the year.

Likewise, hundreds of workers and technicians earn their livelihood in Kolkata by working at the Durga pandals. They are responsible for decorations, carpentry, lighting, and sound. It’s their only way of earning bread and butter for a single season that serves them for an entire year till the next Pujo.

The lockdown which was imposed during the pandemic has rendered these artisans with no income for several months now. Most of them are below the poverty line and are struggling to have a proper meal.

“I have been working as an idol maker since I was 10, and now more than 50 years have passed. Honestly, I have never seen a time like this before. I don’t know how we will survive”, said Sushen, an idol maker in Kumartuli.

Due to the pandemic, this year Durga Puja is entirely different. The lanes of Kumartuli have seen no visitors for weeks. The idol makers have made no or little profit. Workers and technicians have barely any work to peddle their lives.

As the Puja begins, owing to the restrictions, celebrations are not the same this year. People are still scared to come out and roam freely. Congregations have been subdued. Most of the organizers have stepped back from the usual grandeur surrounding the festival with many opting for digital celebration. This has drastically reduced theme-based idols and fancy decorations.

In these difficult times, the Kumartuli Mritshilpi Association has decided to support the artisans and workers with grocery kits. They wish that during this auspicious time of Durga Puja, no family should sleep on a hungry stomach. For this, they need your help to make it possible. Your kindness in form of donations can ensure happiness for the idol makers.

“We have spent our entire lives making the idols of gods and goddesses. If you help us to survive in this testing period, we will consider you no less than a God,” appealed Sadhan Nath, Kumartuli artisan.