Assam: Dibrugarh idol makers busy giving final touches to Durga idols

DIBRUGARH: Sudir Paul (68) is busy these days giving final touches to idols. Sudir Paul, who took up the idol-making profession from his father, Niti Paul, expressed his happiness to follow the family business but the third generation of the family did not show any interest to follow their traditional family business.

In Dibrugarh, Rudra Shilpi, one of the oldest idol-making shops, does brisk business during Durga Puja and Kali Puja. The shop is situated at Ashit Nagar in Dibrugarh and most of the old Durga Puja committees in Dibrugarh gave orders to this shop.

Sudir Paul, who is a B.Com graduate, has taken up his father’s profession because since childhood he was asociated with this business and had seen his father making idols. Sudir Paul said, “This year our business is good. Last two years due to Covid-19, we faced many difficulties. We are back on track and this year we have made 21 idols. Due to price rise, most of the materials that we purchased from West Bengal has shot up. We have to engage 4-5 persons for making idols and most of them come from West Bengal. This time, five artisans have come from West Bengal and they are living with us.”

“Prices of ornaments have also shot up. We have also increased our prices because we have no other option. To some extent, the price rise has hampered the idol-making business. We charged upto Rs 40,000 for one idol, which is the highest in our shop,” Paul added.

He further said, “We make our idols with eco-friendly materials which are safe for the environment. If the idols are not made with eco-friendly materials it will cause pollution. We are concerned about river pollution and use eco-friendly materials which are not harmful for aquatic animals. Our prepration for making idols starts from April. It takes time to make idols. The workers comes in April and after Kali Puja they go and again during Sarswati Puja they come here. The workers are all equiped and very good in their work. We have a good relation and every year they came here.”

Sudir Paul’s son Sukanta Paul, who has completed his M Sc from Dibrugarh University, has no interest in his family business. Sukanta is the third generation of Paul’s family. While talking to the correspondent, Sukanta said, “My father is a graduate and he has been associated with our traditional family business. I have seen my father dedicate himself to his work. To compete his orders on time, he works day and night with his workers. I have decided not to join our family business.”

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