Children of lesser God earn livelihood by lifting Durga

A group of 18 idol bearers can earn up to Rs2,000 for each job and a busy day means at least 4 or 5 such jobs

KOLKATA: Some may call them children of a lesser God. Back in their villages, they live mainly by farming. But they make their way to Kolkata at this time of the year with the onset of Durga puja, on hopes of some extra livelihood.

Several of them come from far off villages in Bihar. For others, it’s a shorter haul from Kakdwip in Diamond Harbour or some from other neighbouring areas of West Bengal.

They are the idol bearers. And their presence is imperative once the images are bedecked and ready. Kumartuli, the idol-making artisans community in Kolkata, needs a dedicated team, skilled in the art of lifting the Gods.

“A large-sized image of the goddess Durga weighs anywhere between 150-200 kg and needs 18-26 people to lift,” says Prodyut Pal, a leading artisan at Kumartuli.

Each workshop in Kumartuli has one or two teams of devoted idol bearers whose job is to transport the images on truckloads to the puja mandaps, where these also have to be downloaded and set up.

Some of the idol lifters leave soon after, only to return for the immersion ceremony during Dashami (or Dusshera), when the images again need to be lifted on to the trucks to the banks of the Hooghly.

Others, especially those who come from far away, stay back till the immersion ceremony is over.

For them, the pujas are an extended holiday, when they band together in the vicinity of Kumartuli, cooking, eating, living on the busy streets and lending a hand wherever required.

The weather too is kind to them at this time of the year.

For every assignment, a group of 18 can earn up to Rs2,000. A busy day means 4-5 assignments.