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Janmashtmi revives Aligarh brass trade
Traders are delighted by the orders for brass idols pouring in and hope the trend continues til Diwali
Agra Devotees are thronging temples not only in the twin religious towns of Mathura-Vrindavan but all over the country to celebrate Janmashtmi and many of them are buying brass idols of Lord Krishna, particularly his child form ‘Laddoo Gopal.
As these idols come from Aligarh, business in the lock city has started looking up. There are bulk orders from Mathura for brass idols, specially ‘Laddoo Gopal’.
Lord Krishna was born in Mathura and Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi is the most popular temple in the town. In the pre- pandemic phase, lakhs of devotees reached Mathura to be part of Janmashtmi – the festival organized to mark the birth of Krishna.
Guest- houses and hotels were packed to capacity and many devotees would sleep on road dividers for paucity of space. They used to stand in long queues to have a glimpse of the idols of Lord Krishna in temples all over the twin cities of Mathura and Vrindavan.
But with the outbreak of Covid -19, everything changed and restrictions were imposed on devotees visiting temples while the portals of major temples like Bankey Behari, Dwarkadheesh and Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi remained closed for most part of the year.
The festival of Janmashtmi was no exception and in 2020 it was a dull affair. This dampened the mood of the markets and orders for supply of brass idols were rare. But things have changed now because restrictions have been eased with corona under control.
“Things are not as dull as last year, although restrictions continue at temples and inflow of devotees is not as smooth as it was in pre-pandemic days. But compared to last year, it is better. We have placed orders for brass idols this time and naturally ‘Laddoo Gopal’ is the first choice’ said Ajay Goyal, who has a shop in Chatta Bazar of Mathura.
“Ninety percent of devotees coming during Janmashtmi seek brass idol of ‘Laddoo Gopal’ – a child form of crawling Krishna carrying ‘laddoo’ in one hand. These brass idols come from Aligarh and their demand continues till Diwali,” said Goyal.
Krishan Kumar Varshney, a young entrepreneur who deals in brass handicraft items in Aligarh is delighted by the orders for brass idols pouring in and hopes that this hike in business will continue till Diwali, if another corona wave does not spoil things.
“Surprisingly, we are getting orders in abundance which we are not able to meet. These orders are mainly coming from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka, besides Mathura with Janmashtmi and Ganesh Chaturthi ahead. Smaller units are busy getting orders for ‘Laddoo-Gopal’ while exporters too are busy with increased business,” said Varshney.
“It is a pleasant surprise that orders are flowing in despite sharp rise in cost of brass which is presently available at Rs. 500 per kilogram when compared to ₹325 per kg about eight months ago. This increase in business is not only confined to brass idols but also enhancing prospects of lock, building hardware business of Aligarh,” stated Varshney.
However, patron of Aligarh Statue Supplier Association Ashok Yadav did not sound as optimistic as Krishan Kumar Varshney about prospects of brass idol business.
“There are more orders for brass idols when compared to last year but turnover is not the same compared to pre-pandemic times. We live in a nation where religious festivals are celebrated with fervour and brass idols are mostly of gods and goddesses. Trade picks up with Janmashtmi and continues till Diwali,” said Yadav.
“Brass handicraft is still a cottage industry with no use of machines and brass idols are handmade, backbone of Aligarh’s economy. There are about 400 to 500 small units engaged in making brass idols which includes ‘sand casting’ and use of industrial oxygen in fine welding while making brass idols,” Yadav said.
Yadav also highlighted the issue of GST linked with metal industry. “The GST on purchase of raw material of brass i.e. zinc and copper is 18 % but GST on finished brass metal product is 12 %. It should be uniform on raw material and end product,” he said .
