Price Spike of Durga Idols: An Extravaganza of Durgotsav

Gargi Sarma

(The writer is Assistant Professor, KC Das Commerce College, Guwahati. She can be contacted at gargisarma16@gmail.com)

Durgotsav is considered as one of the grandest celebrations of people residing mostly in West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and Odisha. Everyone waits for it eagerly. These days, the other States too have started celebrations on Maa’s arrival. The two prime reasons behind it are that the natives of West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and Odisha have settled in various States and also because Hinduism is the religious faith of a few groups from the existing populace there.

The festivity of Durga Puja will fail to have its allure without the idols of Goddess Durga. Idols, therefore, always hold a pivotal place in the majestic celebrations of Maa’s arrival. In India, the trend of such voguish jollification started in the late 1500s (courtesy-internet). It was kickstarted in West Bengal with the initiatives taken by the affluent townsmen like the landlords and zamindars. Those days sparked with only the religious festivity. There was no extravaganza in the celebrations. The idols of the forgone years were sculpted portraying the basic representation of Goddess Durga and her children. During that age, the demand for Durga idols was not as much as today; hence there was no yowling regarding its prices. The artisans usually accepted the amount offered by the buyers. It was a very simple transaction.

Years later, celebrations doubled and with it also the rising demands for Durga idols. Irrespective of the upgradation in the celebration, the transaction between the buyers and the artisans remained simple. The height of the Durga idol was measured and prices were suggested, negotiated and finalised. Moreover, there was no record of competitions among the buyers regarding the idol they bought for their pandals. It was the time when the Kumartuli area of West Bengal came into prominence with the best hands of artisans sculpting Durga idols there. A number of beautifully sculpted Durga idols could be seen at the different pandals of Kolkata. Also, people from faraway States appreciate this art and place orders for the idols for their Durgotsav pandals.

Coming back to the present status of Durgotsav’s festivity, it can be observed that pomp and show have completely taken its place. It has also become a merrymaking event. With these changes, people have begun welcoming an edited version of the celebrations. This version includes the buyers’ demand of classy and styled Durga idols. Such idols refer to the ones which can grab the attention of the populace. This demand was rightly justified by the artisans of Kumartuli. Soon after, the local artisans of different States started learning and imitating the art of idol making. Though Kumartuli still stands tall with its brilliance of idol making, local artisans of different States have also grown with a good number of skills for this art.

Today, the transactions between the buyers of the idols and the artisans are no longer simple. Prices are finalised before the idol is sculpted. The buyer firstly presents the artisans a blueprint of the idol as he wants for his pandal, and response of the artisan is heard. If an artisan states about his inability to sculpt, the buyer promises to pay him double the amount and make him agree.

Artisans’ simple criterion for fixing a price by measuring the height of the idol is still in use for the buyers who come with a motive of a simple transaction. But the buyers who like to follow the glamour of the festivity and aims to add more to it, follows a complex transaction.

To rule the hearts of the populace and follow the trend of extravaganza, the growing demand of the epoch is of beautiful and unique Durga idols. For this, the buyers are always ready to pay any big amount to their artisans. Most of the buyers of the flamboyant idols are corporate sponsors of a respective puja committee. Hence, they can bow down to any big price quoted by either parties involved in the transaction. The never-ending competitions among the buyers of Durga idols every year have also resulted in a higher demand for such unique idols and backed in the process with increased prices.

“Which pandal has the best Durga idol?” This is a running thought in the minds of buyers across the country. Such competitions, however, are still limited in the two-tier or three-tier cities only.

Unlike the yesteryears, the negotiations for prices verge on the logic: ‘How much other buyers will pay?’ as against ‘How much the present buyer can pay for the same idol?’

The buyers take a year to think about a blueprint of the idol and design a concept for the pandal. This is done by the puja committees by coordinating with a team of experts specialised in design and concept of the idols.

Artisans from any State are those groups of simple people who do not know much about competitions. They are hardworking souls who sculpt Maa’s idol with full devotion and accept only a fair price in order to live their life. They tend to prefer only a simple transaction.

The growing charm in the festivity has led India to witness the price hike in the purchase of the Durga idols every year. The contributors of such price hikes are not the idol makers or artisans. They never demand an extraordinary price for the idols they make. It is the buyers of select pandals who initiate the price hike. This is done to overrule the other buyers. Each buyer goes to the artisans with an aim of getting the best Durga idol for their pandals. The common way of winning the competition is through price rise. Once that spiked price is fixed, it becomes the price of the year. Nevertheless, it will not be wrong to state that the artisans never earn a good profit margin from such price hikes. Generally, the artisan uses the amount paid by the buyer to gather the raw materials and pay his fellow members of the artisan group. With the basic calculations too it can’t be justified that they earn a rich profit margin.

Every year there are news about the price hike of the Durga idols. The reports also mention about the skills utilised for the preparation of such majestic idols. The price hike is mostly witnessed in case of flamboyant Durga idols and not the regular ones. In fact, the prices of the regular idols will spike only when the prices of raw materials rise. The idols depict the skilful work of the idol makers and it is very impressive to go through such brilliance. But the question arising at this stage regarding such price rise includes: Is the price spike helping the artisans to upgrade their standards of living? or is this really a price spike? or is it a way to brag about a purchase?

With the involvement of media in the celebrations of Durgotsav, the buyers of the puja idols found a place for exhibiting and exaggerating their purchases publicly. The buyers always state the overall expense they incurred in the idol. They never differentiate the individual costs incurred in the idol and adorning it with jewellery and clothes. Such figures give a general conclusion which merely states “There is a price hike in Durga Puja idols”. This leaves a wrong interpretation for the buyers who look for a simple transaction. Each buyer doesn’t look for an idol that could be adorned with the lavish accessories or have any plan to exhibit it.

Most importantly, the price hike of the idols should at least help the artisans earn a good profit margin. The present state doesn’t depict any picture of reformation of the living standards of the artisans after the well pronounced ‘Price Spike’. The price hike can never be uniform. There are different artisans making idols of the Goddess. The categorisation should be done so as to give a clear picture of the idol market. Artisans are the souls who sculpt the soul of the grand celebrations. They are the ones who help the populace enjoy the allure of Durgotsav. A price spike should be initiated by the artisans rather than the buyers, so as to help them meet their requirements and manifest their art.