Balasore: “People gaze admiringly at the idols that I create. They take pictures of the idols, and exclaim at their grandeur. If they spare a thought for the blood and sweat that has gone into making them, I’d consider my job well-done, and that gives me immense satisfaction,” says Nanigopal Pradhan, a 38-year-old idol maker from West Bengal.
A native of Midnapore district in West Bengal, Nanigopal has now made Bideipur village in Bhadrak district his second home. “I’ve been in this profession for more than 25 years, ever since I was barely a teenager. Four generations of my family have been making idols. I’m happy to report that my sons are also following in my footsteps,” Nanigopal says.
The artisan works round the clock, building idols of Goddess Durga and other accompanying deities for the upcoming Durga Puja festival, at a puja mandap near Balasore railway station.
His father Phanibhusan Pradhan and grandfather Kaliprasad Pradhan were making idols, and his two sons Soumen (16) and Somnath (13) are also learning the intricacies of the art under his guidance, Nanigopal said.
While he hails from West Bengal, he says he chose to stay back in Orissa as he gets more work here across the year.
According to Nanigopal, demand for sculptors from West Bengal are high in Balasore, Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj districts as people are attracted by Bengal style of idol-making.
Nanigopal says he can comfortably make two to three idols at a time by spending eight to 15 days behind each idol. Depending upon the size, he charges anywhere between Rs10,000 to Rs1.5 lakh per idol. He spends 10 months of the year in idol-making and goes for cultivation in the remaining two months.
When asked if he regrets the fact that his two sons have also opted to continue in this vocation instead of pursuing studies, Nanigopal said he is rather happy that the age-old tradition is being continued by his offspring. He says he is lucky that he has never had to stay hungry thanks to his profession, through which he manages to earn more than `5 lakh a year by making idols in various part of the district and neighbouring districts, Nanigopal said. PNN