Women break the mould to make idols

KOLKATA: It's a tale of two women who have struggled hard all their lives to become what they are now. Today, China Pal of Kumartuli and Shibani Pal of Howrah are successful idolmakers. Shibani, 43, is a well-known name in Andul. Fourteenartists work in her studio and she makes idols for pujas in Howrah, Hooghly andKolkata. This year, she is coming up with 21 representations. While the minimumrate of an idol is `15,000, there are ones that she sell for `42,000each.But things were very different 20 years ago, when her husbandAsok, also an idolmaker, died in a road accident on NH-6 while returning homeafter some work in Amta. Shibani was only 23 then and her son Anjan, who nowassists her, was only two. It was a life full of hardship. Theaccident occurred just a few weeks before Durga Puja and there were 40 idols inthe workshop that were still incomplete. Shibani gathered all her courage andbegan work on her own to finish the idols with whatever little knowledge shehad. Luckily, she managed to finish them on time. Many wereapprehensive if a woman, with a child to raise, could do justice to the trade,but Shibani proved her mettle. With firm determination, she continued to makeidols. "My mother is ageing, so I have to take over to help her in thebusiness," said Anjan, 24. The story of China, 39, is very similar.Life gave her a rude shock way back in 1994, when her idolmaker father, HemantaKumar Pal, died 15 days before Puja. There were quite a few orders to bedelivered and China, then 23, took off from there with her limitedknowledge.Two of her sisters were married while the two brotherswere working elsewhere. China stood firm in her determination to carry forwardher father's work and focused on her small room at 1, Banamali Sarkar Street,where she gave shape to the dreams. She had to learn all the skills ofidolmaking as she had never worked with her father.However, Chinastill does not take the risk of making big idols and mostly works onmedium-sized ekchala ones that are used for household celebrations. "I willcontinue to make idols for the rest of my life," saidChina.