Sculptors get ready to welcome Ganesh

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Sculptors get ready to welcome Ganesh

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Cybernoon.com, Bombay

 

Artistes start working from mid-June, demand up this year

and so are prices

 

With just one month left for the famous ten-day long

Ganesh Chaturthi festival, scores of Ganesh idols and

sculptures in the city are getting ready to meet the

burgeoning demands. Sculptors claim that they have a huge

demand to be met this year, compared to the last year. The

pressure for meeting the rocketing demand has forced entire

sculptor families who are working day and night to

complete orders for idols of all shapes, sizes, colours and

designs.

 

Many artists commence their work as early as mid-June to

meet the barrage of orders since the schedule turns hectic by

the later part of August. The orders for idols may range

anywhere from one to 22 feet in height. Ratan Lal, an idol-

maker based in Kalachowkie said, " We start making the

Ganesh idols from May and June as the customers order

their idols in advance. Sketches of the idols are drawn and

customers' consent is taken before starting work. Mainly

mud and plaster of Paris are used to make these idols

everywhere. At some places, wood and fibre is also used.

The wooden idols are worshipped, but not immersed into

the last day. Only the idols made of plaster of Paris are

immersed into the water. " The idols will cost more this year,

say sculptors. A five foot high Ganapati idol will cost Rs.

1,500 as opposed to Rs. 1,000 last year. Artisans say that

Ganesh idols measuring 15 to 20 feet would be costlier by

five to ten thousand.

 

Vijay Khatu, owner of a Ganesh idol-making unit, said,

" We have finished almost 70 percent of the work and I think

in another 10-15 days our work will be complete. We

prepare idols of height up to 22 feet and this year we have

received 14 orders. "

 

Khatu added, " A good quality idol may cost around Rs.

5,000 to 55,000. The orders are placed from all over state,

including Bombay, Pune, Nasik and other places. An idol is

given the basic shape using clay. Then the plaster of paris

dye is made, which is the most difficult part of the whole

process. Coconut oil and other materials are used to prepare

this dye. It may take a day to prepare a five-feet Ganesha

idol and over ten days for a 15-feet high idol. " Over a period

of two months, hundreds of idols are made in batches. Once

the statues acquire a proper shape, a whitewash coat is

rendered. The statue is left for drying till the second or third

week of August. This is when the actual painting of the

statues begins.

 

It is only a few days before the festival that a majority of the

statues have been painted and are being given final touches.

The most absorbing or skilful area of work for artisans is in

the synchronised painting of the eyes and adding the touch

of a divine expression to the statue's visage.

 

Sources in the BMC said, " The idol-making industry is

basically unorganised, thus making it difficult to estimate

the total number of idols made each year. It exists more like

a cottage industry. " While 'Ganesh Chaturthi' is held all

over India, it is celebrated in a big way in the states of

Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and

other areas which were parts of the former Maratha Empire.

 

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