Durga Puja 2022: Goddess Durga idols ready for export; artists from Kolkata’s Kumartuli hopeful for more orders this year

As Durga Puja preparations have begun in advance, Goddess Durga idols are prepared for export from Kolkata's Kumartuli.

TN City Desk

Updated Jul 4, 2022, 13:56 IST

Durga Puja celebration | File photo

Photo : PTI

Kolkata: Idols of goddess Durga are ready to be exported abroad from Kolkata's Kumartuli as preparations for Durga puja have started ahead of time.

In a conversation with ANI, artist and clay modeler Mintu Pal said, "Every year before the annual Durga Puja festival, fiberglass Durga idols from Kolkata's Kumartuli are sent abroad. This year also, I got orders for 11 Durga idols of which five Durga idols have gone to the US. Idols have been sent to Chicago, New Jersey, and New York. One Durga idol is ready to be sent to Dubai."

Pal claimed that rising raw material costs have driven up the cost of manufacturing idols. These exported idols are created from fiberglass. Such an idol takes approximately a month to create and costs about Rs. 1.5 lakh to manufacture, and costs about Rs. 1 lakh to deliver. These idols cost roughly Rs 2.5 lakh in total.

He further said, "In 2022, more idols are going to our foreign countries compared to the last two years. At least 100 idols of Durga are sent abroad from the Kumartuli area. The orders start coming to January-February onwards. Now, the ordering is done online. The packaging of the idol which will be sent to Dubai has already been done "

The number of idol exports decreased and the budget was significantly impacted during the pandemic years 2020 and 2021, he claimed.

He added that 20 to 25 local orders had been placed thus far, many of them from repeat clients. In his workshop, Pal creates about 40 Durga idols each year, according to ANI.

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