It’s close to midnight on Panchami. The queue outside the Mudiali puja in south Kolkata is still long and growing longer. A little away from the gorgeous pandal, a woman quietly paints a wooden goddess of Kali amid all the din. A few more colourful wooden dolls lie arranged in front of her on the pavement. A man takes a nap on a pile of newspapers next to her.
Chabirani Bhaskar and her husband Bhakta Bhaskar are among the many artists who come to Kolkata from the villages every Durga Puja in the hope of income. In between pandal-hopping and feasting, Kolkatans stop by to pick a colourful piece of artefact for their drawing room or some accessory to go with their Puja showstopper outfit, putting a smile on the artists’ faces during the festive season.
My Kolkata went on a tour around south Kolkata to speak to a few such artists.
Wood crafters from Natungram
Bhakta Bhaskar and Chabirani Bhaskar
Bhakta and Chabirani Bhaskar work all through the year to build up a decent stock of items to sell in Kolkata during Durga Puja. The couple live in Natungram, known for their wooden Gour-Nitai (Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityanand) dolls that were introduced during the Bhakti movement in Bengal. Dolls of Lord Krishna in various forms are also crafted along with dolls of Laxmi's auspicious vahan — the owl, soldier/king and his wife/queen, Jagannath and more. The wood used is usually from the shimul tree, gamhar tree or mango tree. The wood is given shape and smoothened out before being painted. Each doll takes at least an hour to carve.
“People from our village travel to Kolkata frequently to set up stalls in different melas. But we don't make enough dolls and furniture to showcase on such big platforms. It's just me and my wife who work all year to come to Kolkata this time. Durga Puja is the largest festival that is famous not only in India but abroad, too. So many people come here (Mudiali) to see the thakur (idol). If they notice us, they usually buy the figurines,” said Bhakta, whose main source of income is doll-making.
A doll of 4 inches can cost anywhere between Rs 60 and 100. Also on sale are furniture such as stools, keychain hangers and other knick-knacks all made using the dolls.
Back in the village, they sometimes sell their dolls to visitors of middlemen but it is the five days of Durga Puja that fetch Bhakta and his wife the maximum earnings in a year.
The couple have been coming to Kolkata during Durga Puja for 15 years but the post-pandemic years have not been favourable at all. “We could not come in 2020 and the sales in 2021 and 2022 were very poor. This year, we are hoping to sell more,” Bhakta said.
You can spot the Bhaskars on the footpath to the left after crossing the Mudiali puja. More woodcrafters can be found near big-ticket pujas at Jodhpur Park, Hindusthan Park and Kalighat.
Patachitra artist from Pingla
A ‘patachitra’ of Durga by Bahar Chitrakar and his son Shirazul Chitrakar
A video of a father and his four sons stationed at the entrance to the Badamtala Ashar Sangha puja near Kalighat with an array of patachitra art and craft items has been much shared on Facebook since Tritiya.
Septuagenarian Bahar Chitrakar has travelled to Lucknow, Delhi, Bangalore and other cities with his sons to sell their paintings and other handicrafts. In Kolkata, they used to sell near Mudiali but have moved to Badamtala this year.
“We have not been selling much at Mudiali for the last few years after Covid. Many other artists have come to Badamtala this time. We, too, decided to come here,” said Shirazul Chitrakar from Pingla in West Midnapore.
Having to pay a fee to the puja committees for each day, the artists have to ensure at least moderate sales to see some profit. The charges for stalls are higher than the slots assigned on footpaths near the pandals.
A dip in sales has prompted the family to bring down the prices of items in the hope of selling more. “People come and ask for the price. For one tray, when I say Rs 300, they walk away. I can understand that they think it is overpriced. But they don't see the amount of labour we put into making one piece. We are forced to let these go at a price that does not fetch enough profit,” said Bahar, who sells paintings, wall hangings, trays, kettles, lamps and other items with patachitra art.
The artist rues that the popularity of his video has failed to fetch him more customers. “We present our art to people through a song. You must have seen it at big fairs or if you have been to our village. The performance attracted many to come and shoot videos. I didn't know about the video you are talking about but many young children are coming and making videos and asking me to sing. But no one buys,” he said.
Bahar has received many awards but the struggles of artists like him continues. “Many gave us awards but our situation did not improve. There are about 200 families in our village who are artists like us. We are struggling everyday to survive. Durga Puja and art and craft fairs are our only hope nowadays,” said Shirazul.
