Women Idol Makers Of Kolkata: Sculpting Their Way Out Of "Age Old Norms"

Women idol makers of Kolkata: Upasona Chatterjee's eyes widen as she paints the ones on Goddess Durga, the mood is exhilarating yet a sombre one for the maker. Over the years many women shilpikars have carved a niche for themselves in Kumortuli, the traditional potter quarters of Kolkata.  But what is it that attracted them to this craft and the allied business? Is it an effort to continue the family legacy, were they pushed by their economical conditions or just to break the social taboos? SheThePeople spoke to a bunch of women idol makers in Kolkata to know the answers.

"Chokkhu daan" is one of the most intimate moments between the maker and the goddess. For years, women were denied the right to draw the eyes and make the idols of Goddess Durga. "It is the first day (Mahalaya) of Puja celebrations but for a maker, this is the last day with the idol,"  Upasona Chatterjee opens up to SheThePeople.

Chatterjee is one of the millennials who chose to be a visial artist and an idol maker, a kumor and was not forced by the circumstances. She did her bachelors degree in Fine Arts from the Government College of Art and Craft but only started making idols in 2017. For her, the first difficulty was to understand the idol-making process which is very different from sculpting. "Sculpture is related to fine art and idols are the product of religion," says Chatterjee.

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While the first problem that women idol-makers at Kumortuli in Kolkata had was coming out of their homes. "I am glad that younger women are coming into this profession by choice," says Kakuli Pal, an idol maker at Kumortuli. Kumortuli is the idol hub of kumors or traditional idol makers located in Northern Kolkata, West Bengal.

Mala Pal, another idol maker at Kumortuli agrees with Kakuli Pal. According to her more girls are coming to her for workshops than before. The same change was noticed by Chatterjee who said that in her batch there were six women and seven men, before that there used to be just two women and the majority were men.

China Pal, another well-known woman idol maker from the area said that change does not come in a day or two. It takes years for women to prove that their "soft hands" are capable of handling bamboo, wood and clay, to the men who dominate the market.

Kakuli Pal

Out Of The Home

Going back to the basics at Kumortuli, most women idol-makers aspired to be one but their entry to the profession was mostly circumstantial.

Mala Pal has been making miniature artforms out of clay since she was a kid. She also wanted to contribute to her father's idol-making business. But a woman coming to a workshop and making an idol was frowned upon in 1985. So, her father chose her brother before Mala Pal.

After her father passed away and the orders during Durga Puja was overwhelming her brother went against everyone and let her come to the workshop to make the Durga idols. He taught and helped her. "There was a woman next door who used to make idols all by herself. It was her means of livelihood since she did not have any men in her family. She once told me that you all are young people, bring a change and let women make idols," says Gobinda Pal, Mala's brother.

In the same year, Mala Pal was taken to New Delhi at a Trade Expo where she made two Durga idols, leaving people astounded.

Since then she has been making idols alongside her brother Gobinda, who believes that she makes it better than him or their father. "After marriage, for two years, I could not make idols because my in-laws did not allow me. My brother had to persuade them into letting me get back," said Mala Pal.

Making idols came after marriage for Kakuli Pal. At the age of 25, after her husband's sudden demise, the responsibility to fill the orders and look after two daughters fell on her shoulder.

So, Kakuli Pal took up the clay and started building idols. She learnt how to mix colours with mud and coat it with glaze. She gathered all her strength to axe bamboos and soften the 'mati'.

While moving around the shop confidently and ordering the staff to paint better, Kakuli Pal says that she was not always like this.

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She had never once stepped outside the house to even draw water when her mother-in-law was alive. It was not just the art of making, she was unfamiliar with the functioning of a business too. During her initial days, she was helped by the men around her. "Learning to make an idol for me was like passing from one class to another. It took time and a lot of patience," says Kakuli.

"If women can do so much, then why did elders say that idol making is not a woman's job," asks Mala and answers her question that people around use to judge when 'girls of the house' used to come to workshops and work with other labourers.

Can women handle business?

China Pal had a perfect reply for that, "the problem is not how we will do business, it is whether you will let us do it."

According to China Pal, at the time she entered the shop to make murtis, she was the only woman in her area doing so. Stepping out, relaxing, asking help from other men, always remained out of questions. "They use to taunt that a woman will do business, make idols then who will stay back home?" she said.

The problem is not how we will do business, it is whether you will let us do it.

But China Pal had little care for it. She used to work under all weather to get her order done. "I just came from home and now I will stay at workshop till 2 a.m.," she said. It is 7 pm a day before Mahalaya.

"When I joined, there were no shilpikars around. I was the first to start with big idols, my mother and aunts used to make smaller idols at home for Janmashtmi, etc. It used to be my father’s business. After he died, I got into the business. During that time women going out to work was not praised, so even if my father wanted me to be a shilpikar, he couldn’t say it aloud," China Pal said.

Before her father passed away, she remembers him telling her to run the business and get her hands in clay. He left an important message with her, it’s not in one day that you will learn, every day is going to teach you how to be better in your job.

"No one taught me, I made mistakes, observed and learnt from them. My idol work is ek chala prothima, which means I do not make art or theme-based idols," says China Pal. 

It is not like she was ill-treated by her fellow workers in Kumortuli, they just felt that women cannot run businesses or be shilpikars. 

"I take care of this and approve orders because if by chance I am unable to deliver they will not question my work but my gender. If my two daughters had wanted to come into this business, I would not have let them. Not because it is not their gender’s place but because it is a struggle. One needs to dedicate their lives to be a shilpikar," says China Pal.

Adding to that she said, "I have seen my mother and aunts make small idols at home. The same idols were sold in the shop by my father and other men. So, they can make idols but not own them in public?"

 If my two daughters had wanted to come into this business, I would not have let them. Not because it is not their gender’s place but because it is a struggle. One needs to dedicate their lives to be a shilpikar." - China Pal.  

Was the Pandemic blow on the market lesser this time?

"Compared to last two years, yes," says Kakuli Pal, adding, "I still have idols from last year lying around. Two to three were ordered but never taken by the customer. This time, even if the prices of the murtis have not increased, they are selling at least."

Bharati Ghorui Chakraborty

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all businesses, particularly the idol-making market. With COVID-19 restrictions, most pandals did not order bigger size idols or ordered expensive ones like usual. The pujas in Kolkata are organised by the clubs in each locality. The orders from these clubs and private homes are what keeps the business running for these women.

Even Mala Pal agreed that business was going low but she said that there is no point in complaining as it is low for others too. Unlike Kakuli Pal, who makes just murtis, Mala Pal also makes other statues and miniature artwork. So when the seasonal market is off, she relies on her other sculptured figures.

Same for Bharati Ghorui (Chakraborty), who makes idols with Mala Pal. When the Puja season is busy she comes back home to help her friend but at other times she sells terracotta jewellery. "Most women leave after marriage and never come back, but she did," said Mala Pal taking a glance at her friend and returns  to applying gold colour stroke on the outer side of the murti.

According to Chatterjee, who currently based in Baroda and pursuing her masters from MSU, Durga Puja is not just about the seven-day celebration of the return of Ma Durga, it is an entire economic structure with people employed at each stage of it. Plus, what is better than women making murtis of a goddess known as a powerful woman herself.

Feature Image: China Pal and Upasana Chatterjee

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