Water seeping through tin sheds, wet and muddy floors, paint peeling off idols and workers falling sick — the effects of persistent rain over the past several days have made work difficult for Kumartuli artisans barely a fortnight before Durga Puja.
By this time, most artisans in Kumartuli would usually be busy tying the loose ends before giving the final paint on the idols.
Many artisans said the rain has hampered their work schedule, forcing them to hire additional hands to meet deadlines, a cost burden they had not factored in. They are also hiring fans to dry the clay idols.
“Pedestal fans have taken up a large chunk of my studio space. The paint won’t hold if the idols are not dried thoroughly. Till the final paint is done, the sari, tufts of hair and decorative pieces can’t be put on the idols,” said China Pal, one of the few women artisans in the idol hub of the Kumartuli.
Once the structure of straw and mud is ready, most artisans use a layer of khari-maati (a liquid mix of grey-white clay) to make the base for the paint. The khari-maati layer has remained wet for days.
“An idol can’t be painted unless it is completely dry. The original layer of khari-maati tends to come off if it remains wet and the entire labour gets wasted,” said Kaushik Ghosh, who sells many of his idols abroad.
Close to 400 artisans are now working across 140 workshops in Kumartuli. Several new idol hubs have come up over the years in Kalighat, Tollygunge, Sinthee and Dum Dum, but the one in Kumartuli is the biggest.
Artisans and industry insiders said Kumartuli had clocked business worth around Rs 100 crore last year. This year, the artisans are expecting much more because many organisers have placed bigger orders.
The regular rain over the past one-and-a-half week has forced the artisans to burn charcoal ovens throughout the night to reduce the moisture hanging heavy in the air inside the studios.
“The moisture needs to be sucked out to keep the idols dry,” said Sujit Pal, who has over 30 orders to deliver this year.
Many big pujas want the idols ready as early as October 13, the day before Mahalaya.
The rain has also meant a shortage of personnel with several reporting sick. “Thanks to the rain, many of my workers are down with fever,” said Babu Pal, general secretary of the Kumartuli Mritshilip Sankritik Samity.