Kolkata: A cluster of three to four villages in North 24 Parganas' Duttapukur, 38 km from Kolkata, adds glitter to the festival of lights. They produce a bulk of the traditional and improvised ‘diyas' of different designs and colours that flood markets across the country. Duttapukur ‘diyas' are also exported abroad and are produced in more than 500 workshops that dot the villages. The ‘diya hub' has become a steady source of employment and income in the area.
Duttapukur ‘diyas' are popular for their finish, colour, and designs, though they have a contender in the national market—the machine-made Gujarat ‘diyas'. "Our products are unique in all respects. Machines can produce more at a comparatively lesser price, but the handmade ‘diyas' our artisans make are of different varieties. Starting from single lamps, we make 30-35 lamps in a single holder. The holders or stands can be of different designs, including peacock-shaped, leaf-shaped, and tree-shaped," said Aparna Pal, an artisan who runs a workshop for the last two decades and produces nearly 7 lakh lamps every season. Aparna's ‘diyas' are sent to many states, including Delhi, Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Karnataka.
The Diwali products, like earthen lamps and Laxmi-Ganesha idols, are sent to other states before and during Durga Puja. The hub consists of Ramkrishna Pally, Sarada Pally, Loknath Pally, Chaltaberia, and a few other places in Duttapukur on either side of Jessore Road along NH 112 that leads to Jessore in Bangladesh. "Nearly six thousand workers are engaged here. Production of ‘diyas' begins from the end of May so that artisans have enough time to produce large consignments of lamps and Lakshmi-Ganesha idols to reach different markets in the country," said Gopal Pal, President of the Artisans' Society.
Though the Diwali products have a large demand in different states all over the country, demand for the colourful ‘diyas' and Laxmi-Ganesha in West Bengal has been increasing in the last few years. "We generally start sending the products to other states, including Delhi, Mumbai, Nagpur, and Punjab, from January in big containers. Many traders send our products abroad too after taking delivery from us. We don't have that foreign connection. In Kolkata, Laxmi-Ganesha idols have been in demand too for some years as many have started worshipping them on Diwali," said Deepak Pal, an artisan at Chaltaberia.