Assam: Artisans hope for better business in Saraswati Puja amid ongoing pandemic

Artisans of Dibrugarh Assam said with Saraswati Puja has come as a lifesaver for artisans struggling with financial constraints and most hoped that the festival would help get their business on track.

Artisans said that Saraswati Puja is being orgsed at a smaller level compared to Pujas in the pre-COVID period

Speaking to Sujit Paul an idol maker said "Before the pandemic, I used to make more than two hundred small idols for the Saraswati puja. This year orders to make only 90 idols have been received. This has been due to the ongoing corona pandemic."

"Presumably this year Saraswati Puja will be celebrated online in most of the educational institutions in view of the Corona infection," he added.

With public events banned due to coronavirus pandemic, idol makers, sculptors and craftsmen were among the worst-hit groups.

Uttam Paul another sculptor said that the government provided no assistance to the sculptors during the lock-down period. He also said the orders for idols are less this year.

"Every year Saraswati Puja was widely performed in educational institutions and neighbourhoods. But in the wake of the coronavirus infection, the festivities have been curtailed," he added.

Saraswati Puja is a prominent Hindu festival that marks the arrival of the spring season as per the Hindu calendar. The day is celebrated every year on the fifth day of the month of Magh as per the lunar calendar.

There is a tradition of worshipping Goddess Saraswati, who is considered as the deity of wisdom, intellect and learning. It is also a day when many toddlers step into the world of formal education. Many parents enrol their students to school on the day, where they seek Goddess Saraswati's blessings in their pursuit of knowledge, art, music and culture.

( With inputs from ANI )

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