CUTTACK: With just 20 days left for Durga Puja festivities, Shilpi Kumbhar Sahi in Cuttack city has come alive with a frenzy of activities. Tucked away in a congested lane in the middle of the city, idol makers at the locality are working for over 15 hours a day to meet the demand of puja committees. Even as the artisans’ workshops continue to draw people, they are faced with a host of problems.
Dillip Behera (48), an artisan, said he is facing problems in getting a tractor load of hard soil (chikita mati) from Banki. “The soil is needed for making idols of seven puja committees including Nuabazar, Tulasipur, Nimchauri, Mehendipur, OSRTC Bus Stand in Cuttack and Samantarapur and Hanspal in Bhubaneswar,” he said.
The hard soil converted into wet clay is beaten and kneaded with hands and feet over several stages to smoothen it to the right consistency and texture, before the artisans give shape to idols of gods and goddesses.
“At least 10 to 12 bags of clay are required for the construction of a single idol of Goddess Durga. I bought three tractor loads of clay, each for `4,000 from Banki during summer to construct idols for Ganesh Puja, Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Laxmi Puja and Kartikeswar puja. However, with no restriction on the size of idols imposed this year, I received a huge order for large Ganesh idols due to which my stock was exhausted,” said Behera.
Hard soil has become tough to procure after the flood and the artisans are not getting it even if they pay to double the amount of a tractor load. Like Dillip, around 60 to 70 idol makers of Shilpi Kumbhar Sahi are facing similar problems to procure clay.
Earlier, clay was available at 42 Mouza locality on the outskirts of the city. However, with local revenue officials imposing restrictions on digging and soil lifting, the artisans have no other option but to depend on a few suppliers from Banki.
The artisans said the Durga Puja festival is celebrated at the fag end of the monsoon which makes it tougher to work with clay. Since the idols absorb moisture, the artisans are forced to work on the idols more than once.