It is Janmashtami, and dahi handis are all over the place. Most artisans are off work. The few who aren't are working really hard to make up for lost idols. Of a total of 8,00,000 idols it turns out every year, Pen lost between 25,000 to 1,00,000 to the rains.
Sujata Samel is one of the few we find working.
"I had given my team of five craftsmen a day off. My husband, who works with a co-operative bank here, has gone out and I have to look after sales," says Sujata, who is also with the bank.
"Though we are both employed, we like doing this a lot. We have done it for years, even though it is tough for us to manage it with our work," she adds.
Sujata's place is far from the river, and all her Ganeshas have lived to tell the tale in Mumbai.
Ganesh idols destroyed by the floods dry in the sun.
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