Dark clouds of uncertainty hover over traditional idol artisans

PATHSALA: The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have brought down uncertainty in everyone's life. People from every walk of life have faced hardship and are gradually trying to limp back to normalcy.

One such victim of the COVID-19 induced lockdown is Mantu Paul, a famous clay artist and idol maker of Pathsala. Known for his breath-taking idols of gods and the goddesses, Paul, however, is in tears this year. He said, "Durga Puja is almost at the doorsteps and till date, I have not received a single order for an idol."

"Earlier, people used to contact me six months earlier with their orders of idols of various shapes and sizes," he added. "A team of nine artists used to work day in and day out to meet the orders on time," he further said. "However, the pandemic has thrown life out of gear and we are out of work. Since the pandemic has hit everyone hard, we even did not find an alternate way of supporting us and our families," he said.

Paul, so far, has received order for just one Vishwakarma idol. "Had the pandemic not struck, then the workshop would have been bustling with work and there would be various idols ready to be delivered," he added.

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