“I’m the lone woman idol maker among 300 artisans”

I was born in a family of artisans, the fourth of eight kids.  My father was an idol maker. 

You can imagine how hard it was to run such a large family with my father’s income. 

I was studying in Class VIII when I fell in love with a young guy who lived near my house.

We got married in 2000 when I was just 16. My husband was 12 years older than me.

He ran a food joint a few kilometres away from our house at Prasastha village in Howrah district.

We were happy as the income was enough to run our family. We were blessed with a son the very next year.

We were leading a peaceful life. 

Sometimes I made idols in my spare time to supplement my family’s income. I had learnt the art from my father. 

But misfortune struck early when my husband began to suffer from heart and kidney problems. We tried to give him the best treatment and took him to specialist doctors. We’d closed down the eatery when he was ill as it was not possible for him to go to the shop every day.

I was sure he would be fine. But destiny had other plans. 

He passed away in 2016.

My son was just 15 years old. We were all alone. We’d lost the bread-winner of our family.

My husband’s death meant there was no means of income at all.

I was left with the responsibility of raising my son. 

Then one day there was this realisation – I knew the art of making idols. Why not use that to earn money?

So I started making idols. Soon my business grew and I had to hire more labourers. Since my husband’s demise, I’ve been running my family by making idols. 

I can proudly say that I’m the lone women idol maker in this artisans village of 300 idol makers.

I’ve never faced any gender related issues. My fellow artisans have always supported me. 

My son has now cleared Class X and he now assists me in my work.

This year I’ve received good orders for Durga Puja idols. 

Things are looking up after the business was badly hit for two years because of the pandemic. 

I can single-handedly make idols as tall as 9-12 feet. 

But the rise in the cost of raw materials – like mud, straw and bamboo – among other items has been eating into our profits as the Puja organisers are not willing to shell out more money, citing budgetary constraints. 

But I’m happy that my business has revived after the pandemic. 

I’ll be happy if we recover the production cost for this year, though we hope for profits next year. 

I sincerely pray to the Goddess Durga that she keeps us all healthy and safe, which is more important than the materialistic items.