This Durga Puja, dhakis (traditional drummers) from West Bengal are having to face the brunt of the pandemic. Most of them travelling to steel city in search of work were in for a disappointment as the number of bookings have been reduced due to a sharp cut down in the Puja budgets.
Despite arriving here in comparatively much less number, these traditional drummers who happened to be an integral part of any public Puja are distressed as they are not going to get proper remuneration from the organisers.
From a grand event to being hosted as a small function for the second consecutive year due to the pandemic this year, the organisers have not been able to collect contribution and donation from the public. Hence, the organisers are not in a position to pay the dhakis their normal fees.
“Most of the Puja organisers in Jamshedpur used to get paid around Rs 20,000 for a four-day-long drumming in a Puja pandal. But this time, the organisers not ready to pay the group even half the amount,” said Rabindra Patro, one of the dhakis while talking to The Telegraph Online, near Tatanagar station.
A resident of West Midnapore’s Debra village, Patro (50) said last year he didn’t come to Jamshedpur due to the pandemic.
“But this year having gathered that Puja is being celebrated with traditional gaiety in Jamshedpur, we reserved tickets in Ispat Express three days ago and travelled to Tatanagar on Monday morning. But there was no taker for us, " deplored the drummer.
He said some of the Puja organisers had contacted them at the railway station, but offered too paltry an amount as remuneration.
About 400 dhakis in groups of four, three or two used to come to the Tatanagar station from various parts of Bengal by 'Shasti' every year. Most of puja organisers would contact the dhakis at the station and would take them along after fixing their remuneration which would range between Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000.
Significantly, this year maximum 200 dhakis come to Tatanagar, but several groups are still waiting to get hired at a workable fee.
