VISHVENDU JAIPURIAR
Hazaribag, Oct 3: “Ladkiyon ke sath atyachar mujhe gusse se bhar deta hai. Mujhe lagata hai ki aisa karne walon ko goli mar dun (Violence against girls fills me with anger. I feel like shooting those who do this),” the lone woman idol maker of this region, Damyanti Devi lost her cool when asked how she feels when she comes to know about the atrocities taking place against girls in the country.
Please allow girls also to live their life with freedom and respect, 66-year-old Damyanti, a resident of Vishnupuri mohalla in town said.
Talking to Lagatar24.com, Damyanti said she is this profession since her childhood making idol for the last 42 years. “My parents were doing this work and I learnt it from them,” she said.
Damyanti, who made idols of two popular and oldest clubs namely Bengali Durga Mandap and Bihari Durga Mandap, reacted sharply when asked about the acid attack on girls.
“It’s the worst happening in the country. They are demons and should be dealt with with an iron hand. Why girls cannot move freely or go to the market in the evening? They also have all the rights equal to boys,” she said.
According to her, she got everything in life from this profession of idol-making. “I always pray to the goddess for peace and harmony in society. Hum jab Devi ko ma ki tarah pujate hain to phir ladkiyon aur auraton ke saath hinsa kyon, (When we worship Goddess as a mother then why violence against girls and women),” she asked.
Damyanti said it is the fault of parents also who failed to guide their children properly. “If they will tell them to respect girls putting some moral values in them, such incidents will decrease,” she added.
Damyanti said her children are not in idol making as earlier there was no money in it. “Now we get work round the year,” she said.
