They can retain a touch of divinity even in the earthly forms of deities, but cannot find some peace of mind for themselves. They can recreate the idols of Gods and Goddesses in all their heavenly livery, but find it difficult to make ends meet.
Such is the life of sculptors in Ranchi who make statues of Gods and Goddesses to be worshiped at puja pandals and homes. The hardships— mental, physical and monetary —associated with the job is forcing the next generation of artisans to rethink their career options.
“To the best of my knowledge, idol making has been our family business for the past few centuries. The work is intricate and unrelenting; there is no room for error, which, if any, will amount to heavy losses in terms of working hours and money. We try our best to ensure that we satisfy our clientele, but our job is a thankless one,” said Alekh Pal, son of master sculptor Ajay Pal.
While talking to Alekh, a first year student of Bachelor of Commerce in a city-based college, one finds him a skilled sculptor but an apathetic one. And he has reasons to support his disinterest. “Visiting puja pandals is not something we usually do, nor was it usual during my childhood days. All the workers are so tired after work incessantly for six months that they prefer to rest rather than go pandal-hopping,” Alekh said.
The idol making process for Durga Puja begins in March and continues till November, with only three to four days for rest – from Mahasaptami to Vijayadashmi. After this brief break, they are back at their workshops to finish idols of Goddess Kali before Kali Puja arrives.
“It is common for us to work for the whole night before delivering the idols to puja pandals. Attention to detail is crucial as even a minor slip-up will eclipse the entire beauty of the idol. But despite the efforts we make, the returns are far from satisfactory. With increasing labour and material costs, it is becoming difficult to keep the workshop functional,” said Alekh.
He added, “We had to cut down on workforce to save on wages of sculptors, but the number of orders and time limit have remained the same. This has increased the burden on us. The stress we experience during the six months before Durga Puja even makes the sculptors short-tempered, making it difficult for us to manage the staff.” All this is culminating in the younger batch of sculptors to move away from the sculpting business.
“This workshop will continue as long as my father can keep it running, I have no intention of keeping up the difficulties of the job. Children of some sculptor families have already given up the profession. Soon will be a time when it will be hard to find a good sculptor to make Maa Durga’s idols in Ranchi,” Alekh said.