Kathmandu. Near Paras Bus Park on the East-West Highway in Bharatpur, Chitwan, there is a lot of noise of vehicles and the movement of people on the road. Vishwakarma Puja, factories, garages and vehicles are worshiped with pomp. However, the ‘Vishal Murti Store’ operating in a temporary rented place on the side of this highway is a different scene.

The members of the same family are busy painting and decorating the attractive idols of Vishwakarma Baba prepared for worship. At first glance, these colorful idols look neat and beautiful, but there is no special glow of happiness or enthusiasm on the faces of the artisans who mold them with their own sweat.

Rajesh Pandit, who has been making idols in different parts of the Terai since his native home in Rautahat, has been doing this work in Bharatpur for the last 18 years. For Rajesh, who was born in the Kumal caste, making clay and making idols is not only a business but also an ancestral religion, tradition and caste identity.

Rajesh, who has been enjoying this art for the last 30 years, has about 10 family members of two generations completely dependent on this profession. At present, 4 members of Rajesh, his wife Nirmala Kumari Pandit, and their two sons are working day and night in Bharatpur.

2 months’ sweat, 200,000 investment and 25,000 rent

It is not enough to prepare an idol. The process of preparing the pattern, shaping, drying and finally painting by bringing clay, wood and straw is very complicated. It takes a whole day to make an idol into the pattern, while it takes 4 to 5 days of hard concentration and hard work to prepare and dry and paint a group of 4-5 idols.

The Pandit family had worked continuously for the last two months to prepare 60 to 70 idols for this season. According to Nirmala Kumari, more than Rs 2 lakh has been invested in these idols, which were made by paying customs duty from India. They have to pay Rs 25,000 per month for the rent of the place and room.

Last year, business was disrupted due to the Gen-G movement in the country, but this time the charm of the festival has been lost as people are in mourning and pain due to floods, landslides and disasters. “Last year, the government (movement) ate it, this time the floods ate it. There is no way to get the investment. “, she says in a tired voice. These idols are mainly taken by the owners of garages, factories, factories and vehicles for Vishwakarma Puja. Depending on the size, the price of an idol ranges from Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,000. However, even on the eve of the puja, out of 60-70 idols, hardly 20 to 25 have been booked.

More than 40 unsold idols are now forced to be restored for next year by renting a room. “Forget about profit, there is no investment,” Nirmala Kumari said.“Rajesh Pandit also handed over this art to his 28-year-old son Nitesh Kumar Pandit. Nitesh, who has been working with his father since the age of 15 to make clay and idols, used to be very happy to do the work of his ancestors in the past. However, for the last two years, his business has been steadily declining and he is struggling to feed his family. “It is not possible to sustain this profession now. Nitesh said with a heavy heart, “Now there is no work in Nepal, all the youth have gone abroad. If this is the case and if it does not work, then I have no option but to go abroad.” ’

Creators of Faith themselves are in trouble

For the Pandit family, these idols are not just goods or business to sell. “These are our gods too, we worship ourselves and we also set aside an idol for ourselves. ” said Rajesh Pandit. They are preparing to make Saraswati Puja idols in January and Durga Puja in Dashain, but there is not much hope of a market for them.