BURDWAN: WELCOMING DURGAPUJA - SAGA OF THE LOTUS COLLECTORS
  

Bardhaman Dot Com News Bureau
Burdwan, 01 Oct 04 :
Once the dighis (big ponds) were used by the dacoits to dump the dead bodies of their preys. The bodies were thrown at these ponds after looting them & slitting off the heads. The ponds at Karjan village since those early days are still called `gardanmari'.  The lotus & the lotus leaves of this & two more adjoining ponds are used for the Durgapuja. The harvest of these lotus bring a bit of economic benefit & joy to the local people engaged in the business, but have to pay a heavy price on the harvest, often at the cost of their lives.

Lotus bloom better in mud filled ponds and hence the ponds are the left untouched most of the time to ensure a good harvest. The untouched ponds turns to perfect nesting place for venomous snake specially the Padma-Kharish (a breed of Indian cobra). The snakes get attracted to the marooned ponds specially during their breeding period. The snakes generally rest below the leaves & hence remain almost invisible from the surface. The flowers are to be plucked at the late hours of the night so that it reaches the market fresh


A villager collecting lotus at Karjana, Burdwan

at the morning. The dark of the late night often leads the collector to be bitten by cobras, one of the deadliest snake in Bengal. The nearest hospital being miles away the snake-bitten persons die even before they get he minimum medical attention.

The administration are generally uninformed about the real death toll of the lotus collectors. The villagers most of the time cremate the bodies without informing the administration & police to avoid post mortem. Some of them even float the bodies on the river based on the superstitions. Inspite of these, the supply chain remains intact. Even the economic betterment is like a faded dream for these villagers. Sukumar Hazra of Karjana chatti, a lotus collector & a father of six children said, "for us Durgapuja doesn't bring joy & happiness." "We risk our lives to supply the flowers used for the puja. Our puja remains on the verge of death & life." explains Hazra. These villagers sells the lotus leaves often used as a disposable platter for the rest of the year to earn a mere 15-20 rupees a day. Hazra stunned us by asking, "how may of use ever thought while holding a lotus bud during pushpanjali, that it may have reached your palms at the cost of the life of someone like me?" A fact that the persons collecting the much needed lotus for the Durgapuja have to tread through a path which is not at all bed of flowers.