Human existence and creativity are inextricable coexistence of civilization and development. This applies in untold ways to the Kumartuli karigars or artisans defining the coexistence of urbanization and the history of Kolkata over the years. These artisans are of three types: idol makers, decoration artisans and sculpturists. The sudden onset of Corona pandemic in March 2020 in India greatly affected the business of these artisans who belong to the category of unorganised sector. These artisans also belong to the creative economic sector. According to the present study, the artisans who have opted for occupational transformation as a strategy and compulsive choice of survival were in a much more stable situation in terms of their average annual turnover compared to those who did not opt for occupational transformation. The SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat) analysis reflects the geographic potential of Kolkata which has facilitated the occupational transformation of the artisans. It is worth noting that a significant percentage of artisans belonging to the above three categories have opted for variegated occupations like vegetable selling, fish selling, cosmetics selling, groceries, tea shops and other miscellaneous jobs like mask and sanitiser selling, bakeries, sweet shops and so on. The female artisans have also opted for diverse occupations like home maid, cooking, vegetable selling, groceries, selling masks and sanitisers and so on. The present study also finds that despite the fact that the majority of the artisans of all three categories want to return to adopt their parental or heritage occupations, a significant percentage of artisans who have already adopted different occupations do not want to return to their parental occupation. Moreover, there is a lack of interest among the young generation to carry forward the heritage occupations owing to insignificant returns from business and apprehension from future shocks and pandemics. The present study suggests that occupational transformation is not the permanent solution to the sufferings of the artisans amidst the Corona pandemic. It is worth noting that the Corona pandemic has aggravated the already existing problems of the artisans like price rise of raw materials, inadequate returns from business, low profits, lack of interest among the younger generation to carry forward the heritage occupations and so on. Therefore the current study demands more inclusive and sustainable planning by the government, planners and administrative bodies to ensure the long-term growth and development of these artisans, in the long run, fulfilling the promises made by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the long run.

Creativity, Karigars, Occupational Transformation, Annual Turnovers, Corona pandemic.