Naresh Mali, a veteran dhaaki or traditional drummer, would travel to Guwahati from Cooch Behar every year during the Durga Puja to play the dhaak at a Puja organised by a club there.

Earnings would be decent and Mali would return with gifts too, given by club members and pandal-hoppers happy with his performance.

This year, when less than a month is left for the Puja, Mali is morose. Sitting at home in Malipara under Cooch Behar-I block, Mali is unsure whether anyone in the neighbouring state will hire him during the festive days.

“The scheduled date for the second dose of my Covid-19 vaccine is after Durga Puja. But in Assam, the puja organisers have made it clear that they would hire only a dhaaki (drummer) who is fully vaccinated with both doses. Most of us like me (with one dose of the vaccine) are in a fix and don’t know how many of us would be able to make it to Assam,” the 55-year-old drummer said.

Altogether, around 15,000 drummers live in Cooch Behar district. During festive occasions, at least 5,000 of them go to Assam while others fan out across Bengal.

“Durga Puja is the festival for which we eagerly wait every year. This is the occasion when we make most of our earnings for the whole year. But the pandemic has changed everything,” said Uttam Badyakar, a drummer in Vivekananda Colony, also in Cooch Behar I block.

According to him, among drummers, hardly half have received the first dose. Only a few hundred of them have received the second dose, he added, dimming their chances of getting hired.
Usually, Puja organisers enter into a contract with well-known drummers during the Vishwakarma Puja.

“But hardly any club turned up this year (for Vishwakarma Puja on Friday). Even in our state, clubs are preferring drummers who have received both doses of the vaccine and asking for certificates. So very few among us will be able to get jobs during Durga Puja,” said Badyakar.

Tapash Mali, another drummer, said the district administration and health department should understand their compulsions. “They should see to it that all the drummers get vaccinated. Also, a drummer who has received one vaccine dose should be allowed to perform in clubs with an RT-PCR negative certificate,” he suggested.

A health official said they could take steps to facilitate the first dose for drummers.

“But as far as health protocols in festivities are concerned, the onus is with the state governments. Drummers who are yet to take their second dose will get them in due time based on the Centre’s regulations,” said the official.