West Bengal: Dakshindari potters expect good sales this Diwali after two years of COVID pause

By Ujjwal Roy
Dakshindari (West Bengal) [India], October 23 : Potters in West Bengal's Dakshindari are hopeful for a good sale of earthen lamps during the ongoing festive season as the state has immersed in festive fervour.
While talking to ANI, Madan Prajapati, a potter said, "The demand for diya (lamp) has increased this year sa compared to last two years of COVID. The post-pandemic market is doing good. There are thousand of people associated with this business and expecting good profit this year."
He said that he had made thousands of diyas and exported them to other states due to its extensive demand.
"It takes about three to four days to make a diya and it costs about 40 paisa to 50 paise. There are different sizes for them and is priced according to the size," he added.

"If people are boycotting cheap Chinese products, it is bound to increase our sales this Diwali," said Madan who is associated with this business.
Like other sectors, the pottery business has suffered a downturn over the last two years despite the festive season of Navratri and Dussehra, but the business is yet to pick up.
"We haven't had good sales in the last two years of Diwali. The upcoming Diwali period has generated hope for us. We have been making earthen lamps and pots for the last two months. People have slowly moved towards buying local goods, this is a good sign for us. We have made 50,000 diyas till date out of which 40,000 have been sold out," he further said.

Appealing to everyone for buying handmade diyas, he said, "We need to feed our families and don't have alternate sources of income. I would like to tell everyone to use the local-made lamp so that we can also celebrate Diwali this year and the country's money remains in our country itself."

Diwali and Kali Puja are coinciding this year on October 24.
Gayatri who came to buy the earthen lamp said that she was happy as people were getting a chance to celebrate the festival after two years of COVID-19 pandemic.
"I have come here from far away to buy diyas. We want that the potters get financial support and I would like to encourage more people to boycott Chinese products. There are varieties in diyas. Come, buy and make Diwali happy for these people (potters)," she said.
"After coming here, it is very nice to see the creativity of these people who are keeping our heritages alive in the country. We should definitely buy this and promote them. We should definitely go for promote local for vocals," said a buyer, Darshana.
Dakshindari comes under North 24 Parganas District of West Bengal.
Deepavali, popularly known as the festival of lights, is celebrated nationwide with great pomp. People perform puja, observe rituals, decorate their homes with diyas, rangoli, ornaments, and lights, enjoy delectable sweets and meals, dress in new traditional attire, and more.
Hindu mythology states that Lord Ram returned to Ayodhya on Diwali after defeating Ravana and spending 14 years in exile. People make wishes for health, wealth, and prosperity to the gods Lakshmi, Ganesh, and Kubera as part of the festival of lights.