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| Rain spoils Kolkata's clay idols |
| The clay idols are soggy and artisans are wondering how to repair, dry and paint them in time for October 17.
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| INDIA
, 27-September-2007
0:23:22 AM |
| The Durga Puja - Bengal's annual autumn extravaganza is just three weeks away but it is raining misery in Kumartuli.
Kolkata's famed idol making district, where more than 30,000 idols are sculpted every year, is reeling in the aftermath of torrential rains earlier this week.
The clay idols are soggy and artisans are wondering how to repair, dry and paint them in time for October 17.
By now the idols of Goddess Durga should have been ready for painting but incessant rains over the past few days has put plans on halt.
''The idols can't dry up, in some the clay is washed out as it's virtually impossible to stop water ingress even after putting plastic sheets. And once clay washes out, our labour requirement is doubled. We need four persons to do a piece of work, which two could have done,'' said Madan Pal, Sculptor.
While some artisans are using pedestal fans to dry the soggy clay, others are using lamps to dry the half-made idols.
''Tarpaulin or no tarpaulin, rain brings our work to a complete standstill. We suffer huge losses. If the clay dissolves out because of the rain, we can't bring an idol back to its original form,'' said Dilip Pal, Sculptor.
Many artisans have to start work from scratch and the idol makers are already counting their losses.
''It's a huge financial loss. When we stop work because of rain, we end losing out about Rs 500 per hour if there are 10 labourers working at one place. We are worried as to how we can repay our bank loans,'' said Biswanath De, Treasurer, Kumartuli Artisans Association.
But Goddess Durga will surely not let them down. For now, the 10,000-odd artisans of Kumartuli are looking up to the Goddess hoping for sunnier days ahead.
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