Devis who make the deity

Maya Pal never wanted her daughters to follow in her footsteps. She knew it wasn't an easy road ahead. Though she picked up the brush reluctantly in the male-dominated industry, today as she paints the small-size Durga idol in golden-yellow hue in a tiny space in her Kumartuli studio, 45-year-old Maya tells us, "I like what I do now."

As Durga Puja nears, Kumartuli — the potter's headquarters in north Kolkata — becomes claustrophobic. It's sweaty and buzzing with activity. The narrow alleys smell of wet clay, rain-soaked bamboo and straw. Maya is one of the few women artisans in Kumartuli, who entered the profession for the upkeep of her family and the labourers who work for her.

The struggle to sculpt a livelihood in the gender-biased profession was a gruelling task, says Maya. As she paints, Maya recalls how four years ago she took charge of the business when her husband Ram Chandra Pal passed away. "This wasn't something I wanted to do. I used to visit the studio after doing the household chores and work with my husband. After he passed away, the labourers and the business were my responsibility. So, I stepped in," says Maya.

The same is the case with Kakoli Pal, who was left with no other choice but to inherit the business after her husband expired of a brain stroke in 2003.

At this moment, Anima Pal enters Maya's studio. She has just finished cooking lunch. Not from the family of potters, Anima learnt the craft after she was married to an artisan in Kumartuli. Today, she carves the face of the goddess with finesse and earns her living.

It is ironic that Goddess Durga, the very embodiment of women empowerment, is made mostly by the men of Kumartuli. However, for the past few years, a handful of women artisans have made a name for themselves in the age-old male bastion. Today, if you ask anyone in Kumartuli about the women who make the goddesses, they will guide you to the studios of China, Kanchi, Mala and Maya.

Breaking the

glass ceiling

Today, China Pal is a celebrity and so are the other women artists. It's been more than 24 years that China is making goddess Durga, a craft she learnt from her father Hemanta Pal. As China sits quietly at her studio amid the Durga idols, which have received a layer of white paint as the base coat, she recalls her past and the insurmountable pain she had to endure to gain success and break the glass ceiling. Inside her studio, several men work on the Durga idols, which will make their way to Shyambazar, Hatibagan, Hiland Park and other places by Mahalaya.

China was studying at Baghbazar's Nivedita School for Girls when her father Hemanta Pal passed away in 1994. The youngest of the six siblings, Hemanta, never wanted her daughters to make idols. But when her two brothers showed little interest in the business, China knew she had to be the saviour.

At 45, today China runs two studios and is called for the inauguration of Durga Pujas. In 2015, China became a household name in Bengal when she crafted the Ardhnarishwar idol (androgynous) for Kolkata's first transgender Durga Puja pandal.

Seriously speaking

However, China says the initial years weren't easy. More so, for a woman artisan. "When I started, no one took me seriously. Even the labourers took extended breaks. But I kept my patience. I knew that if I can work, I will survive. For a woman, it is important to prove her mettle. This is exactly what I did. Today, my work speaks for itself," says China.

Such was her dedication to her craft that China never married. Also, she carried forward her father's legacy. Till today, she follows the traditional style of idol making of her father and carves 'ekchala thakur'.

From lack of support from family members, hesitant customers, and male colleagues who did not take them seriously, the women sculptors of Kumartuli have been fighting against all odds. "We were written about in the newspapers, but we couldn't charge as the male artists. Also, they didn't speak highly of us," says China.

Balancing act

A woman has to deal with the workplace as well as household chores. Much like Durga, the women artisans, too, multitask to keep their love for the art alive.

Kanchi makes it a point to complete her cooking by 11 am and enter the studio. "A woman needs to balance home and workplace every day. A male artist can have breakfast and head straight to the studio. It's not possible for a woman artisan. She needs to cook food for others and complete chores. So, there's a lot of struggle a woman artist needs to undergo every day," says China.

In fact, the biggest challenge for the artisans is the rising cost of raw materials and the lack of labourers. "The cost of raw materials has skyrocketed post Covid, and we are struggling with labourers as most of them have travelled outside Bengal. Those who are working have hiked their prices too. However, we are happy with the bookings this year," says Kanchi Pal, one of the most sought-after women artisans of Kumartuli.

Small is big

Most of the women artists started off making smaller idols and figurines. Anima used to make Janmashtami idols as a beginner's guide to idol-making training. "My parents live in Andul. After marriage, I was interested in the art," she says. Mala Pal's father was strictly against his daughter entering the workshop. However, it was her brother, Gobindo and her husband Bhanu Rudra, who encouraged her to continue the craft. Today, Mala has been single-handedly running her studio in Kumartuli for three decades. Known for her miniature 'foldable' Durga idols, Mala's works are exported to several countries. "Mala di has gone to cook lunch," says one of her workers.

Just like Anima, Kanchi also learnt the craft of making Janmashtami figurines at the age of five. Kanchi gives the entire credit to her mother Archana Pal. Considered a one-woman army, Kanchi along with her sister Aparna give tough competition to the men. She has a huge studio bustling with labourers and filled with Durga idols.

"I took over when my father Nrisimha Pal passed away. We have faced extreme hardships but then I knew I could fight back. In 2014, I won the Asian Paints award among women artisans," beams Kanchi. She says each day is a challenge for a woman artist. "I am cornered because I am a woman. But then, I am also a tigress and I fight back equally well," says Kanchi.

Future perfect?

While some women artisans didn't receive much support from family members, there are some like Rama Pal who enjoys crafting idols with her husband Sanjib. Rama especially looks forward to crafting goddess Saraswati. "It is the goddess that we both do together," she smiles. Their six-year-old daughter, Khushi, too, has started taking interest in idol-making.

Though the women sculptors of Kumartuli are go-getters and dream big, not many want their children to pursue the profession. Maya had made up her mind not to get her three daughters married in the potter community. "Women in sarees perched on ladders to mould idols is not an easy job. It requires a lot of hard work and struggle. Also, you need to balance both your home and workplace. I didn't want my daughters to suffer," she says. All her daughters are married outside Kumartuli.

So, who will carry forward the legacy, we ask Maya? To this, Maya points to one of the young boys working in her studio. "He has been working here for a long time. Now, he is a part of the family. If he thinks, he can," Maya smiles.

Anima quietly informs that her only son is in the police service. Kanchi's son Debayan Dutta is keen on her mother's business. "This is a business where someone from the family will show interest. The show will always go on," China smiles.