Bengal’s Pal idol makers make stopover in Doon

By PRABEER SIKDAR

DEHRADUN, 11 July: West Bengal’s traditional idol makers, the Pals, have arrived with their team in Doon’s Durgabari, where they have started work on clay models of Durga. The skilled craftsmen, comprising six members, have already finished working on the clay models, two months before Dusshera.The idol makers working here all have surnames ending in Pal: Panchu Gopal Pal, Podut Kumar Pal, Prashant Pal, Mitu Pal and Anup Pal. “Traditionally, Bengal’s Pal community, whose basic tradition has been pottery (Kumhars) and clay idols,” pointed out Prashant Pal, 30, a resident of West Bengal’s Bardhaman District, who started learning the idol making craft at the age of 12 years.“We have a busy schedule. Next week, we will head to Ghaziabad, then move to Faridabad, Meerut and the final stopover is Aligarh,” said Pal. “This year is too hot,” complained Pal, who is making his 15th visit to Doon. His brother-in-law, Panchu Gopal Pal, is the chief craftsman in the team.The idol makers have got one week’s time to finish working on a dozen idols at Aragarh’s Kali Temple, Durgabari and Sahastradhara Cross Road before they move to Ghaziabad, where his brother-in-law runs the 'Sarv Sundari Murtikala Kendra' (SSMK).Among the idols, the tallest of them has a height of 8.5 feet, which would be installed at Durgabari complex on the Mall Road. “Besides Durga’s idol, we have also finished working on the other accompanying Gods and Goddesses including Ganesh, Laxmi, Kartik and Saraswati,” said Pal.Interestingly, the clay used for making these idols has been sourced by these makers from three places: Kolkata, Ghaziabad and Dehradun. “Clay from the Ganga (Kolkata) to make fingers and faces, Ghaziabad clay for polishing, while clay obtained from Doon is used as base material,” disclosed Pal, adding that they use powder based colours and mix them with tamarind glue.Over the years, these professional idol makers from West Bengal, where idol making is done on a large scale, have made their business secure by going to other states.“We will come back a week before Durga Puja to apply colours to the idols,” said Pal, disclosing that they would hop from one stopover to another, making idols in the next two months.

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