Tableaux Making Earns A living For These Villages In Odisha

Cuttack: Preparation of tableaux for various puja pandals during the festival season has become a cottage industry in a few villages near Choudwar in Cuttack district. The festive season has given them a good opportunity to make a living.

They prepare decorative pieces as per the needs of puja committees and charge anywhere between Rs 15,000 and Rs 2 lakh per tableau depending upon its design.

Craftsmen of villages like Chasapada, Chitreswar, Muradkhanpatna and Paikarapur supply tableaux made of thermocoal and tinsel to various pandals across the state. The demand for the tableaux has made the craftsmen busy these days.

“We were charging Rs 600 for a colorful tableau three decades ago. Now, the price of such decorative pieces has gone up to one lakh. My family had prepared 10 tableaux for this year’s Ganesh Puja,” said Debraj Rout, a senior craftsman of Chasapada.

Puja committees from the silver city, Dhenkanal, Angul, Bhadrak, Jaipur, and Kendrapara approach the craftsmen of Choudwar to prepare decorative pieces during festival season.

“We prepare tableaux and other decorative pieces for the worship of clay idols of Lord Ganesh, Goddess Durga, Goddess Kali, Goddess Lanni and Lord Kartikeswar at various puja pandals,” said Bhaba Giri, an 85-year-old craftsman of Chitreswar.