‘Shilpis’ or sculpture artists in Kolkata’s Kumartuli have been left in the lurch right before their biggest earning season – Durga Puja. Kumartuli – or potter’s den – is where idols of Goddess Durga are made from scratch by artists who have been in the business for years.
We have customers who are coming to us for years. Earlier they used to order for 11-feet tall idols. This year the same customers have asked to reduce the size to 9 feet. They say they are not sure of how much revenue they’ll earn from ads because of the GST.Partho Pal, Artiste at Kumartuli
Others say that they had to let some customers go because the cost of production has increased but customers are unwilling to bear proportionately increased prices.
“The customers are comparing present prices to that of the VAT era. Therefore I had to refuse some of them. Many of them are puja committees that have been coming to me for years”, said Tarak Pal, another artiste.
Not just a slump in sales, sculptors say that post-GST they find it difficult to obtain material for the Goddess’ saaj (ornamentation).
When GST was enforced, we didn’t understand what effect it will have. But now we see economic effects on our craft. Under GST clothes are taxed at 5%, colour and varnish at 28%, wigs at 5%, weapons at 18%. So our total production cost has increased. When we ask for a higher price, customers who’ve been coming to us for years, don’t agree. So we have to adjust accordingly.Ranjit Sarkar, Artist at Kumartuli
“Earlier we used to spend about 2000 rupees to procure ornaments for the saaj. Now even if we shell out 5000 rupees, we are not getting all our materials. How will we survive? The future generation will not want to enter the industry at this rate,” said Dilip Pal, a third generation shilpi at Kumartuli.
The flood-hit state of Bengal has also seen a rise in the price of straw and clay which has only exacerbated trouble for the sculptors at Kumartuli. They’re hoping against hope that they earn profit by the end of the Puja season.
Video Editor: Vivek Gupta
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