Vishwakarma Puja: Rising costs, low demand leave idol makers struggling

Patna: Vishwakarma Puja, celebrated annually on September 17, has lost much of its traditional grandeur, especially for idol makers who work long hours to craft idols of deity for the occasion. Their income has been steadily shrinking due to a sharp decline in demand and rising prices for raw materials like clay and other essentials.
Many idol makers feel trapped in this profession with no viable alternatives for making a living.“I have been making idols of Vishwakarma and other deities since childhood as this is my family business. But I will not want my children to continue with this profession, which requires immense labour that yields nominal income at the end,” said a visibly dejected Sanjay Kumar Pandit. He and his two helpers have been working tirelessly for over a month, preparing idols that must be delivered within the next few days. This year, Sanjay has received orders for 20 statues, each priced between Rs 3,000 and Rs 6,000, which need to be ready by September 16.
The biggest challenge for these artisans is the rising cost of raw materials, particularly clay, which has become prohibitively expensive. “The price of the clay we used to buy for Rs 500 per tractor has now increased tenfold to Rs 5,000, and yet we are not able to charge significantly more for the idols to cover the costs,” Sanjay said.
In the past, clay was sourced from nearby areas like Danapur, but now it has to be brought from Maner or Vikram Pali, leading to a spike in transportation costs. “We cannot use just any kind of clay to make idols. We use only two types of soil — red soil and Ganga soil, which are soft in texture,” he added.
The demand for Vishwakarma idols has also plummeted over the years. Many garages and workshops that used to place orders for the idols have shut down and no new ones have opened to take their place.
“Many people now prefer using pictures of Vishwakarma instead of idols, to avoid the hassle of the immersion process,” Sanjay said, referring to the ritual of ‘visarjan’, where idols are immersed in water after the festival.
Mantu Pandit, another idol maker working in the same area near Gandhi Maidan, shared similar sentiments. He said continuing in the profession was not a matter of choice, but rather one of compulsion. “The process of making clay idols requires painstaking labour, but the profit margin is not very rewarding. We continue only because we have no other options,” he said.