Kuldip Maity

In my last blog, I mentioned that Durga Puja contributes Rs32,377 crore to the economy, especially from retail, food & beverages, installations and idol-making, amounting to around 2.6% of West Bengal’s GDP. We also know that while there were some signs of recovery in retail and F&B during the 2021 festival, even with some COVID19 restrictions in place, idol-making and installations need a boost that, hopefully, next year’s pujas will provide.

For idol-makers, though we have many religious occasions throughout the year, a slump in Durga Pujas translates to a major dip in their business. At least that is what Dipa Kar validated during our discussions with her.

Dipa, a member of the Amardeep JLG of Village Financial Services, in the Howrah district, is a Sri Briddhi customer. Dipa and her husband started pottery and idol-making around 25 years ago. Better access to markets made them move away from their ancestral village and set up shop in Bauria near Howrah, where they had bought land.

The business was doing well enough for them to employ workers. But then the COVID19 pandemic put everything into a tailspin. Dipa had to let go of the workers and run the show with her husband and son. It is not that orders have stopped, since religious events go on, but the orders were for smaller or cheaper idols. The mounting costs have been adding to their woes.

With the UNESCO announcement, many like Dipa are hoping that festivals will look up in 2022 and business will go back to pre-COVID times. Idol-making accounts for Rs260-280 crore in the total economic worth of the Durga Puja festivals. While we must comply with the COVID19 guidelines, we also need a quick revival of business for the sake of sustenance of those whom we have supported to bring out of their financially challenged lives.

Growth in demand is just a first step towards revival for potters; the next challenge that the idol-makers will face is getting skilled teams. Many of the earlier workers have moved to other jobs, and skill-building is not an overnight task. While Dipa had access to local resources, many idol-makers recruit migrants for such jobs, migrants who have moved back and may not return overnight, just on a single call.

We also need to look at alternatives for such idol makers, especially those who have been in this business for decades. Maybe exploring low-cost non-religious idols for decoration and space management purposes would be a good idea. While I am not an expert here, I feel that businesses that make clay structures need a stable model.

Cultural heritage is not only the monuments and collections of objects that remind us of our tradition and roots. It also includes intangible traditional social practices, rituals, and events and contemporary rural and urban practices in which diverse cultural groups take part.

It is on this note UNESCO has included Kolkata’s Durga Puja in its ‘Representative’ List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’. A proud moment for those who have grown up with the 10-day festival as an integral part of their lives.

Durga Puja has always been a festival of social cohesion that has maintained its tradition while also promoting experimental art and social reforms without compromising on religious practices. It has been a unique example of how we can maintain our identity while feeling be a part of society at large. The influence of the festival is evident from the way expatriate Bengali Hindus try to return home to Kolkata during the festival to touch base with their roots or organise their festivals wherever they are in the world. The last time I checked (though in the pre-COVID19 days),Bengaluru had more than 70 Durga Puja committees and London had around 30 Durga Puja sites.

But Durga Puja is not only about the religious festival or cultural inclusion. According to a study conducted jointly by the West Bengal Tourism department and British Council in 2019, annually, Durga Puja contributes Rs32,377 crore to the economy, especially in sectors such as retail, food & beverages, installations, idol-making etc., amounting to around 2.6% of West Bengal’s GDP. These are substantial figures when we are referring to one 10-day festival.

Customers of Village Financial Services also get their fair share of the business.

While, as everywhere, the pandemic had its negative impact on Durga Puja celebrations, we are sure that the dip is temporary. There were some signs of a recovery in retail and F&B during the 2021 festival, even with some COVID19 restrictions in place. But idol-making, installations and a few sectors still need a boost that, hopefully, next year’s pujas will provide.

At VFS, we have been reaching out to customers whose businesses depend on the Durga Pujas, e.g., businesses such as idol-making, accessories, local tourismto understand their state. Some have downsized during the pandemic but are now planning to ramp up with the hope that the UNESCO tag will have a positive impact on business.

While the 2022 Durga Pujas startsin end-September, the Omicron variant of COVID19 is looming over us and all that we can do is wait and watch.

Empowerment of women can be possible when we break the traditional practices of society and make our customs gender neutral. One such custom is the widely-accepted norm of the girl being given away to another family on marriage. It has always disturbed me a lot.

But we also hear that the days are changing, and fast. When my executive told me about Debjani Chakraborty, it came as evidence.

Married to a man with a car rental service, Debjani got into the wholesale snacks business to add to the family income. With a microfinance loan from Village Financial Services, she bought chips and confectionery items in bulk and distributed them to the local kirana stores of Kotulpur Keorapara village in West Bengal’s Bankura district. The business has been steady, though it did take a hit because of the market turmoil caused by the COVID19 pandemic.

She told us how she is balancing her life between being a woman entrepreneur and a homemaker. Her husband, driving his own Scorpio, which he has rented to the block office, has erratic work hours. Debjani looks after his well-being. Her husband also helps her when the work pressure peaks. This symbiotic support is what keeps the marriage strong.

Debjani has not neglected her role as a mother of two daughters. She had to drop out of school in Class 8 so she ensures that her daughters don’t miss school. Despite her work pressure, Debjani tracks their progress every day.

So far, Debjani’s tale is like many others among our borrowers. So what makes her stand out?

As we were discussing her business and money issues, Debjani seemed tense. It is only at the end that we learnt that Debjani has ensured that her ailing father moves to her house and stays with her till he gets better. She has already ensured medical care for her 80-year-old father. She has put the growth plan of her business on hold.

Debjani insists that her father will continue to stay with her even after he gets well. As a daughter, she feels it is her duty to take care of her parent. She breaks the social norm that entrusts this duty to the son of the family since daughters are treated as members of another.

Empowered women such as Debjani validate the fact that gender does not have much to do with fulfilling the responsibilities of a child, parent or spouse while driving a successful business. What else can we expect from our women customers?

In my blog, Blessing in Disguise, I had written about the businesses that have been positively impacted by the lockdowns triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. One example was of the kite-making business and the other was plant nurseries. The lockdowns forced people to stay at home and so more and more people looked inward.

People also became more health-conscious. Amongst the non-vegetarian people, fish became more popular as a source of essential nutrients such as calcium, omega 3, vitamins, and minerals. These nutrients were seen as protective good nutrition. Hence, the fishing nets business grew.

One such report says countries such as India and China have huge potential for the production of fishing nets manufacturing because of their long coastlines and increasing population. The report says the Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.5 per cent and generate revenues of US$ 932.2 million in 2028.

While the people in this trade navigate their way out of the gloom of the pandemic and into the prosperity of the future, I shall talk about Elema Bibi. She is a resident of Atisara in West Bengal’s Hooghly district. She is a mother of two. She is an entrepreneur.

Right from childhood, Elema had been fascinated with fishing. Growing up in a fishing community, Elema accompanied her father on his small boat trips across the river. At the crack of dawn, little Elema would be up, ready to launch on their conquests. With some leftover rice packed in a bundle, she would leave with her father. Every day, after they returned with their catch, they would spread their nets content and segregate the fishes. At this point, Elema would have to leave for her home, and then for her school.

Educated till Class 7, Elema was married off early. Her husband worked in a jewellery manufacturing unit, far from her zone of fascination. Elema’s heart longed to see those threads of fishing nets. Days passed into years, Elema became a mother. She transitioned from a timid, little girl, to an able homemaker, and then to a loving, caring mother. But in all these transitions, her heart remained entrapped in the wondrous mesh of fishing nets.

Seeing her sadness, Elema’s husband proposed to her the business idea of manufacturing fishing nets at home.

A year ago, Elema became one of VFS enterprising customers. With the loan amount, she procured the necessary raw materials such as thread and needles. She made sure to let every fisherman in her village be aware of her products. To market them better, she hung her fishing nets in front of her courtyard. Soon, the fishing nets caught the eyes of potential buyers. They also became well known for their durability and strength. As word spread, Elema soon attracted customers from outside her village. To handle the demand, Elema soon employed a few women from her neighbourhood. She taught them the art of weaving fishing nets.

Amidst all this, her husband lost his job to the pandemic induced recession. But the loss didn’t hurt the family of four much. The lady of the house was in total control of the household income. Her husband soon joined the business and became in charge of transporting the consignments. Their business thrived, unhindered by the challenges thrown at them.

One can always steer the mind, but one can hardly steer the heart. Surely, Elema is a wise entrepreneur but her work reflects her passionate mind, engrossed in making her business a super success.

The pandemic has been a blessing in disguise for many, even though no one wanted it this way.

You may disagree with me. But the facts won’t.

In one of my blogs, I had noted how the kites business soared during the lockdowns of the COVID19 pandemic in 2020. People caught in a lockdown with no end in sight found flying kites a stress buster. This quintessential Indian way of spending time gave a boost to an industry that was in a seasonal rut.

Many other industries found a much-needed boost. One such has been the nurseries and horticultural farms.
(https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/business-of-gardening-continues-to-bloom-across-india-amid-the-pandemic/article34490033.ece)

People discovered the pleasures of gardening. Some gardening enthusiasts even started growing their vegetables. Many thought that keeping plants at home will help improve oxygen levels. Well, the last notion is up for debate but re-greening our cities and our towns is never a bad idea.

Paramita Byapari, a customer of Village Financial Services who owns a nursery, was one of those who was blessed by the sharp increase in demand for seeds and plants.

Paramita lives with her extended marital family in the village of JiratHattala Biswas Para, Hooghly. The mother of a teenage son, Paramita wanted to support her family during her lockdown when the earning members—her husband and brother-in-law—lost their daily wages to the lockdown.

Paramita realised that she needed to support her family. The crisis also allowed her to nurture her entrepreneurial dreams. On her visit to the market, Paramita saw nursery owners getting the largest number of customers after vegetable sellers and grocers.

She took three gardens on a lease and turned them into thriving nurseries, with help from her husband.

In two months, she gained a handful of loyal customers from her village. She realised the potential of the nursery amidst the lockdown when she started getting orders from outside her village, district and even state.

The demands for saplings of seasonal fruits, indoor plants and flowering plants grew and she ran out of stock before she could take in more orders. Then, Cyclone Amphan ravaged a part of her nursery. The calamity almost wiped out her income from the business. Paramita felt dejected once more.

But this time her family became her support. Her husband informed her about microfinance loans. From the women in the neighbourhood, she got acquainted with a joint liability group called Netaji. The group advised her on the process of applying for a loan from VFS.

Paramita soon became one of the most enterprising customers of VFS.

With the loan, Paramita launched her second innings. With her husband, she began restoring the damaged areas of the gardens. New species of flowering and fruit-bearing plants were added. She began reconnecting with her old customers. Some returned, some were sceptical, but returned later, nevertheless.

Paramita began nurturing her hopes again. She worked throughout the day, tending to and managing her nursery. The hard work started showing results. Her fame spread and orders started coming from nearbymarkets and far awayplaces such as Dehradun.

Life has taken a massive turning for Paramita and her family.

Two years ago, the Byapari family lived on daily wages earned by the two male members. Today, they have lived up to the meaning of the word “Byapar” (business) through Paramita. For Paramita, the pandemic gave her insights into the world of business.