Durga Puja potters at 60% of pre-Covid business; guess who’s the culprit!

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65-year-old Kishan Lal, who has been in the pottery business since he was 10-year-old, has weathered various kinds of business fluctuations.

“There was a time when our business was flourishing. We used to get orders well in advance. But now with social media, anyone can make it anywhere. It is only the big idols that can be made by a professional and this is what that has kept our business going.”

The labyrinth lane that leads to Kishan Lal’s ‘workhouse’ is also a major impediment. “It is extremely difficult for the customers to reach here. My business graph has nosedived. But I can’t leave my ancestral property and move out.”

Vikas Prajapati who took up the business at the age of 15 agrees that social media has played a havoc for their business.

“The pandemic brought our business to a stand still. There has been a nearly 60 percent recovery since then. But there is a still of lot that needs to be done because there are many people from other community who are doing this now. This has flooded the market with makers of idols, some of whom are not even skilled .”

But does he ever think on moving to a different terrain?

“No, this thought can never come to me. If I abandon my family business, who will take it forward,” he says, while giving the final touch to the 8 ft Devi idol.

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