19 Aug 2017  |   03:47am IST

Adding life to clay

We’ve all reflected on the innocence and beauty that reflects off the countenance of Lord Ganesha’s idol; it takes a special kind of skill to create these magnificent idols. Café travels to Valpoi in Sattari taluka to watch these idol-makers at work

Dolcy D’Cruz

It’s almost festival time and the markets are a riot of colour as Lord Ganesha idols are already making their way to the stores. But as we still have a few days until the actual festival, it’s an ideal time to catch the village idol-makers lay the final touches to the last lot of idols. To do so, we travel to Valpoi in Sattari taluka.

The process of making these idols starts right after the first rain in June. Once out of the mould, the second stage of the process is when the hands, trunk and other ornaments are attached to the main form.  Next, the idol is brushed over to give it a smooth finish and later painted in white. The idol is then painted in a skin-colour shade and details like the hairline, the eyes and shading of the trunk are added. For the final step, a varnish coat is applied and then the idol’s ornaments are coloured gold.

The Mest family in the village of Sanvordem in Sattari have been dedicating their time for the idol-making process over generations. Balkrishna Mest has grown up watching his father, Shankar, lovingly work on the idols, and he follows in his footsteps. “We picked up the skill by just observing our father as he worked on the idols. Now I am joined by my elder brothers, Narayan, Gajanand and Dhananjay, and my nieces and nephews,” says Balkrishna. They bring the clay from Mandrem and the paints from Mangao in Maharashtra. “The most challenging part about creating these idols is to make the eyes look as lifelike as possible,” he adds.

Idol-making has been a family business for Balkrishna and his brothers and they have been running it for the last 60-70 years. They produce over 180 idols, fulfilling orders from the nearby villages of Kumthal, Shir, Khadki, Nagargaon and even villages like Krishnapur in Karnataka. They have different models of the idol in different shapes and sizes.  “We add final touches till the last three days of the festival. Before the festival, every idol is taken to the respective homes,” he explains.

In the city of Valpoi, Uday Sadashiv Velingkar, his younger brother Nilesh and son, Unmesh, are busy completing the idols in time for the festival. Strengthened by a ten-men work force, he has orders of over 550 idols, which are neatly arranged in his courtyard, verandah and the living room of his house, which he has turned into a huge workshop. The smell of the fresh paint fills up the air as they complete each idol and set it aside for drying.

“The biggest idol we have right now is around five feet tall. The clay is difficult to source in Goa now so we get it from Maharashtra. We accept the last order before Nag Panchami. Ashok Mandrekar from Mayem has been with me for the last 35 years. He is an experienced potter and painter and a great support in these busy days,” says Uday, as he carefully paints the eyes of Lord Ganesha, eyes that will bless the homes that He will be welcomed in during this much loved festival of Goa.