Kolkata: After Covid break, Kumartuli opens doors to shutterbugs for a fee

KOLKATA: After closing the door to amateur photographers since the start of the pandemic, the Kumartuli artisans’ association has started allowing in shutterbugs for a small fee to survive the pandemic blues and have some extra fund, which goes up to Rs 50,000 a year, handy for medical emergency needs of the potters and their families.
Every year in the run-up to Durga Puja, Kumartuli turns into a photographer’s paradise with amateurs and professionals crowding the colony to capture the idols in the making – a subject too lucrative for any photographer to resist.But time and again, artisans have complained that the nuisance created by photographers – both local and foreigners – interrupts the flow of their work. The pandemic gave them just the right excuse to prevent their entry as the Kumartuli Mritsilpa Sanskrity Samity stopped issuing permit cards to completely restrict outsiders at the idol hub.
However, with idol prices slashed and profits running low, the Samity has reconsidered its decision and started allowing photographers’ entry again. Not just still photographers, they are also allowing commercial video shoots that fetch more money.
“We had stopped entertaining photographers during the Covid period considering safety issues. But now we have started allowing them again against a fee of Rs 50 as we need the money for the artisans’ welfare,” said Babu Pal, secretary of the Samity.
Starting from the middle of July, photographers start crowding Kumartuli in groups. A recommended study tour for the amateurs ready to take the steep learning curve in photography, Kumartuli becomes a shutterbugs haunt of epic proportions during the run up to the pujas leaving the idol makers in the potters’ colony dreading the weekends.
Shutterbugs armed with cameras, lenses and tripods can be seen squeezing themselves into the tiniest of gaps between idols to capture that one unique frame for posterity.
According to veteran photographers, Kumartuli is a challenge for any photographer who wants to learn to shoot interesting subjects in low light and cramped spaces. “All photo schools and photo clubs opt for Kumartuli as it gives photographers a chance to learn about the different formations, patterns and light conditions. It is also preferred by experienced photographers because it presents the challenge of shooting something new in a place that has been captured by thousands of others for years,” said Sudipta Chakraborty, a veteran photographer.
If “likes” on Facebook are the reward for a striking picture, the artisans complain of distraction, disturbance and sometimes destruction.
“Many a times, the flash lights are a distraction while painting a fine line of the idol’s eye. Some even break idols’ hands or fingers and leave only after an argument. Many photographers are also unapologetic about their behaviour and enter studios and even our homes without permission,” said a veteran idol maker.
Another city-based photographer, Sutirtha Basu welcomed the decision but asked photographers to be more courteous and ensure not to disturb artisans or damage their work while shooting at the potters’ hub.