Archive · 11 Oct 2026
Durga Puja Artists Report Business Decline and Privacy Concerns
Durga Puja is a major festival, and artists in Kolkata make idols for it.
Sculptor Samir Paul says this year feels different.
He says he has sold six fewer idols than last year.
He connects the drop in sales to the Trinamool Congress losing elections to the BJP.
Paul also says photographers and social media creators have been taking pictures in artists’ studios without respecting their privacy.
Artists used to be able to charge an informal fee for photos or videos.
The local administration has stopped that practice.
The article describes concerns raised by Paul and does not provide other artists’ views.
Sculptor Samir Paul says Durga Puja feels different this year.
He says he sold six fewer idols than last year.
Paul links the decline to the Trinamool Congress losing elections to the BJP.
He says content creators and models have intruded on artists’ privacy in Kumartuli.
The local administration scrapped an informal fee artists could previously charge for photos or videos.
- Who
- Kumartuli sculptor Samir Paul
- What
- Paul says he sold six fewer idols than last year and describes privacy concerns involving content creators.
- When
- Just before Mahalaya; the article identifies the date as Saturday, 10 October, but gives no year.
- Where
- Kumartuli Potters' Lane, Kolkata
- Why
- Paul attributes lower sales to the Trinamool Congress losing elections to the BJP.
- Artist
- Samir Paul, a master sculptor with 30 years in the profession
- Location
- Kumartuli Potters' Lane, Kolkata
- Reported sales change
- Paul says he sold six fewer idols than last year
- Political change cited
- The Trinamool Congress lost elections to the BJP, according to Paul
- Privacy concern
- Paul says content creators and models came to photograph unfinished idols
- Photo fee
- The local administration scrapped the informal fee artists could previously charge for photos or videos
- Timing
- The report says the events occurred just before Mahalaya and identifies the date as Saturday, 10 October, without specifying a year