My car steered slowly towards the tin barn. My experienced driver maneuvered around the massive
craters. I wondered as to whether “moon”
walking would be more comfortable than this bumpy roller coaster ride
ironically on the FM set the song “Tum aaye to
aaya mujhe yaad, gali mein aa chaand nikla” played on.
As I neared the tin barn at last I could see the idols.
Clay or thatch figurines bathed in moonlight as a around 5 kumors moved about
slowly giving them a final coating of clay.
Kumor para, or the neighbourhood of kumors, the artisans
who make the thousands of idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses and help in
receiving their blessings.
As I stepped out of the car I realized that the road was 'kacha' (made from mud) and uneven. “Gali mein aa
chaand nikla “ the radio
set played on...
As I neared the workshop, a artisan came to me “ Ki
TV??” (Are you from a television channel?) “ Na Radio” (No I am from a Radio
channel) I replied. “ Ashun, ashun “ they warmly welcomed me inside. I was lead
directly to the man in charge, Pal Babu( In Bengali caste system Pals have been
regarded as excellent kumors for decades). “ Ami Arijit Pal(name changed) ja
jiggesh korar amay korun.” And thus the interview started.
As proud as a father is of his children, Pal babu
showed me his various creations. As I gazed on asking questions about the
methods used in their creation all of a sudden I realized most of the artists
who were working were pretty aged. Only one boy of 16-17 was working on a kali
murti in some distance. “Aapnar chele?”( Your Boy?) I asked . “ Na, na .. notun
projonmo ei byabshaye dhukbe “( No, No , do you really think that the next
generation is going to come into this trade) he started laughing sarcastically.
“ Keno?”(Why?) I asked. “Jei byabshaye 2 maser jogar hoy na shekhane ke aste
chaibe. “ (who would like to be in a business that cannot give one money enough
to survive two months?)
I stared at him for some time. Amused at the
sight of utter shock on my face he started to explain. With the escalating
prices it was getting more and more difficult for them to make their trade
economically viable. “ Sarkar??( Has the Govenment helped...” “ Vote era age
pabo sarkar er dekha” He explained that for the last two years the candidates
have gone on giving them false promises of building a shade, A permanent
workshop etc. “ O shob bhaota, oki aar hobe( all this is nonsense, nothing will
ever happen) He said confidently. “ Tai to amar class 9 er chele tao kaaje
aaste chay na, amio boli na, ami I last ei bonshe ...kumor” ( That is why when
my son who studies in class 9 refuses to work here, I do not insist, I am the
last generation of kumor in my family clan). It was difficult to judge in the
dim light as to whether it was his bright eyes sparkling or the tear drop
glistening in the moonlight.
As I neared my car, I took a last glance at the
tin barn workshop. It is indeed amazing to realise that the idols of the Gods
and Goddess, whom we mostly see adorned with gold, silver, zari and precious
silks have such a humble upbringing. I wondered as to whether these idols were
one of the last few generations of kumor made idols that we were ever going to
see in Siliguri. As I stared at the moon bathed landscape the unfinished idols,
the workshop, the craters I turned up the volume of the radio... Suman
Sridhar humming.. “, khoya khoya chaand, khula aasmaan ...”
