Kolkata: Even before the first political banner is unfurled or the first rally is called, a group of men in Lalbazar can already sense the approaching elections. These men belong to a row of cramped, dust-filled workshops just a few blocks away. Here the clink of hammer against granite serves as a precursor to the democratic process.
As assembly elections approach in a couple of months, Kolkata is undergoing a customary facelift. Roads are being repaired, drains cleared, and parks spruced up. At every site, a familiar trend has emerged, with a plaque announcing the project, the budget, the area, and, most prominently, the name of the elected representative. Inside these workshops, craftsmen are working overtime before the Model Code of Conduct bars any such self-promotion by politicians.
"Long before the general public, we sense the arrival of the election season," says Bapi Das who works at RK Dey Engraving on Lalbazar Street. A veteran of the trade since the mid-1980s, he said, "I have engraved hundreds of plaques for MLAs, MPs, councillors, and even chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee."
Orders start flowing in three to four months before the elections. "Elected representatives are in a rush to showcase work to their electorate," explains Prabhat Ghosh, a craftsman at a neighbouring shop. "Orders surge and we have to set aside all other work."
The process is meticulous. Contractors and political aides frequently drop by to scrutinise spellings and figures. "They provide the matter to be engraved. If even one zero is missing from the project amount, they make us do it again," Ghosh joked.
On busy days, work spills onto the pavement outside the shops. Slabs are lined up in rows, waiting to be chiseled, polished, and collected. By noon, the engravers' shirts and hair are coated in dust. The politician's name and the amount sanctioned are etched in larger fonts; there are no party symbols or slogans, only the ‘language of development'.
"It is usually the ruling party that places the maximum orders. There are hardly any opposition MLAs, MPs, or councillors in and around the city currently," said another engraver. These workshops, situated at a stone's throw from Writers' Buildings, the former seat of power in the state, have witnessed decades of political cycles.
Not all projects progress as briskly as their plaques suggest. At times, work stalls for want of funds, but the engraved slab remains at the site. Plaques cost between Rs 1,200 and Rs 2,500 a piece. In peak season, more than 500 are produced each week. Engravers say four months of election time work can surpass their usual monthly earnings.
Then there are years of "double bonanza", with two elections in a year, like 2021, when KMC elections followed a few months after the assembly elections. "This year too we might witness two elections. Amra du poisha beshi pabo (we would earn a little extra)," said Das, with optimism in his voice.