Tiruchy artisans toil hard, but influencers are making quick bucks

Traditional Vinayakar idol makers lament that the rapid evolution of marketing trends through social media in every field has been one of the main reasons that customers never look up to the hard work they put in during the season

Artisans work on idols at a unit in Mela Kondayampettai

Updated on:

07 Sep 2026, 1:59 am

TIRUCHY: Traditional idol makers from Tiruchy have been facing an unusual decline in sales this year for the upcoming Vinayaka Chathurthi festival, and they blame it on social media influencers and middlemen.

The artisans say that the rapid evolution of marketing trends through social media in every field, in which influencers draw customers and hold their attention for a long time, has been one of the main reasons that customers never look up to the hard work they put in during the season.

The artisans also complain that these influencers and middlemen even divert their regular customers, resulting in poor annual business, and they are now anticipating a huge loss this year compared to before.

As the Vinayaka Chathurthi festival falls on September 14 this year, idol installation committee members from across the state have already begun a hectic search for and purchase of idols.

The tiny village of Mela Kondayampettai near Srirangam used to be bustling with activities, as the villagers are usually immensely involved in making Vinayakar idols. But things have changed over the past few years, and this year it has turned from bad to worse, as the handpicked idol-making units which survive now have seen several varieties of idols still waiting for customers.

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“In those days, each unit in Mela Kondayampettai used to make at least 100 idols ranging from three feet to 10 feet, and the devotees from across the state used to throng to this sleepy village during the festival days. But now, they have been hesitant to make idols as most of the sheds have stocks of idols made last year due to poor business and now, like any other business, the middlemen have entered into this business and they eat our profit by making negotiations with the prices. We relent to their offers to avoid loss of money,” said P Manikandan (52), a fifth-generation idol maker from Mela Kondayampettai and owner of Sri Annapoorani Kalai Koodam.

Manikandan referred to the social media influencers as the latest threat to their business. He said that they commence their work from the month of Thai and complete it just a week before the Vinayakar Chathurthi festival.

“In those days, we got orders from the regular customers with certain customised models, and we prepared them without negotiating the quality, and they would come on the particular day and take the idols. But nowadays, we face less business and, sensing this, a few social media influencers approach us for making reels for their pages and even give their contact numbers for their likes, shares, comments and their business,” complains Manikandan.

He said that recently, a group of three persons approached him and video-recorded the making of idols and the available idols, asked him a few questions, and went back.

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“After a few days, one of those people ordered three 10-foot idols and negotiated for prices, and the amount he suggested was just the making charge. To avoid stagnation of stocks, I had to hand them over, but he ate my profit without any sweat, and I decided not to entertain such people in my unit anymore,” he said.

He also said that a few people approached him a week back for a social media video shooting.

“I refused, and they even convinced me of making good business through their page followers, but still I refused. We toil for months; they (influencers) make money within seconds,” worried Manikandan.

Like the social media influencers, the middlemen too have become another threat to the traditional idol makers.

“There are several middlemen across the state. They contact us and demand idols of certain variety and they fix the price. Even if we refuse to accept the price, they go to the extend of diverting our regular customers. We find no other way but to accept their offer and they fix the prices as per their will while selling after establishing galleries during the festival season,” Manikandan further said.

Apart from all these factors, the prices of raw materials had gone steeply high. Now, they are only allowed to make idols either from clay or from tapioca flour, which is soluble. The price of tapioca flour (50 kg) has increased to Rs 2,250 from 1,300, and the paper pulp piece to Rs 40 from 25, while the Casuarina pole (savukku pole) has increased to Rs 45,000 per tonne from 30,000. They need at least 20 kg of tapioca flour for making 4-foot idol.

“Despite there being less profit, we don’t want to quit this ancestral profession,” Manikandan said.

As almost all of these workers are traditional potters, their life style so humble, and they cannot even invest money in advance. They said that when they approach the banks, the officials refuse to give them loans, suspecting their promptness, and so are left with no option but borrowing money from money lenders for a hefty interest.

“The government should instruct banks to allow us small-scale industrial loans with certain subsidies,” Manikandan adds.