Bengal artisans give shape to Bengaluru’s Durga Puja

It is that time of the year when artists from Bengal come to the City to make Durga idols for pandals here. For them it is not only more money but also new experience.

Sandeep Kumar Pal fondly remembers the time he and his brothers started making idols. “We grew up around clay, watching our father make idols every day. When something is in the family, you do not get trained; you just watch and learn,” he says.

For Sandeep, idol-making became a profession after he completed high school. “Now this is the only thing that I am good at and can take pride in,” says the 35-year-old, as he shapes an idol of Durga at the makeshift workshop in Yelahanka in Bengaluru.

As the city gears up to celebrate Durga Puja every year, these idol makers from Bengal come to Bengaluru for a few months, giving shape to idols. Now, the city prides itself in showcasing big pujas that come close to Kolkata’s Maddox Square or Deshapriya Park.

Sandeep has had this set-up at Yelahanka for many years now. “When I and my father first started here in the early 2000s, there were not a lot of pujas or even idol makers. Now, the numbers have definitely increased,” says Sandeep. He and his father hail from Burdwan district of West Bengal and consider idol-making as a “generational occupation”.

For idol makers like Sandeep, Bengaluru proves to be an ideal place for many reasons. “The income here is more than Bengal with lesser competition. It is not just Durga; we also make Ganesh idols during Ganesha Chaturthi; that is a plus point here.”

Joydeb Pal, another idol maker from Hebbal, came to Bengaluru from Burdwan during the 1990s, “We first came here to make Durga idol for Bihar Bhavan.” But his entire family is now settled in Bengaluru, and all members have been contributing to the city’s pujas ever since. “My main business is in making Durga idols. We make all types of idols now like Ganesh, Bishwakarma and even Kali.”

Utpal Pal has been working under Joydeb for three years now. “I have been to different places like Mumbai Gujarat for idol-making. The pay is always more outside Bengal,” he says.