Preparations in this part of the coastal states of Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka and across the country are in full swing, as people are all set to welcome the harbinger of prosperity, wisdom and obstacle remover, the elephant headed God, Ganapati or Ganesh. A little over a week left for the grand festivity of Chovath or Ganesh Chaturthi that falls on fourth day of the Hindu month of Bhadrapad will be celebrated from September 19 across the state of Goa. People are busy doing the final arrangements of sprucing up their houses getting a new coat of paint and decorations and they are already in the festive mood ahead of the festival buying Matoli (wooden fruits and vegetables for newly married daughters), new furniture for the living room, latest clothing and jewellery to add to their personality.
Professionals involved in various fields of art works are busy to meet the deadline as the days of festival closes in. For Ganesh idol makers, it is very long days of work as idols are taking form in varying shapes, sizes and made to order custom designs. Traditionally, the use of clay idols is very common in Goa, but there are few families where the idols are made of paper mache and even wood.
Resident of Reis Magos (Verem) septuagenarian, Prabhakar Pednekar, who has Pednekar Chitra Shala is a third generation Ganesh idol maker in the family with his sons, Ranganath, a surveillance equipment professional and Digvijay, a manager in a private industry have already taken to the family roots are at the job. Ganesha shaped like Dattatraya, Mangal Murti, Chintamani, Lalbagh, Dagdushet style, wearing different types of head gears, sitting on a peacock, a mouse and in a coconut are some of various forms, are waiting to receive a coat of colour.
Pednekars are one of the six idol makers in the village making about 70 odd idols almost 50 percent to what they use to produce in the past. “Small sized idols are made from clay, using water colour with most of their regular customers located within the village,” informs Prabhakar. The reason behind the fall in the number of customers is only because of sales of idols that are available in the market from outside the state and they are available in close vicinity.
Though for customers it is just a day’s effort of collecting beautifully made idols from traditional Ganesh Murti makers or from a stall in the towns, the arduous process to shape them really takes a pretty long time. Prabhakar says, “We start the work about three months before the festival, choosing an auspicious day by performing a pooja by invoking God’s blessing. The clay is procured well in advance. In the past, we were getting clay from a nearby place in Verem, but later we had to procure from Virnoda and Mandrem in Pernem and Bicholim. The clay has to be properly kneaded such that it is very fine and sticky, devoid of granules, otherwise the idol will crack. Earlier my mother Shilavati and wife Deepa were a great help in our work.”
“After the idols are moulded, it takes about a week to dry under shade, which is a very slow process. We normally start the painting work on Narali Pournima or on the day of Ashtami,” confirms, Ranganath who takes off two months from his professional work to dedicate full time for this divine work. In the past before the advent of compressor, all the painting work was done only by using a hand brush, a painstaking and time consuming exercise. Ranganath says, “About ten days are needed for full painting of the idols that begins with a coat of primer, followed by body colour, shading (Lali), Rehkni (fine eyes painting) with last part involving golden lining finish to the idol.”
“To finish the work in time is always a challenge as getting artists is quite difficult though three of us manage, and the help that was coming from neighbours in the old days has almost died out. Still we have managed to find couple of artists to speed up the work. Last year was one of the most difficult times as my mother, Deepa, passed away during the critical time of idol making, still we manage to finish in the nick of time,” Ranganath says recollecting the sad moment for the family.
“Lord Ganesh never fails in such difficult situation, but get things done successfully,” adds Ranganath, with a sense of happiness. “The most satisfying thing for us is the appreciation we get for our work from our esteemed customers who have faith in our work,” he says.
While they carry this family tradition for generations like hundreds of idol makers in the state, they are not convinced about the government’s support to artisans. Cost of production has gone up exponentially because of material costs and the subsidy that government offers is very miniscule for many artisans to carry with the trade. “While there is ban on use of Plaster of Paris idols in the state, the government is totally inactive in controlling sale of such idols that are brought from other states which hamper local artisans interest,” Prabhakar laments.
Making Ganesh idols may not be very lucrative with the rising cost in production, for idol makers like Prabhakar, however, is happy that his sons have picked up the skills with devotion that bind their family with the customers down the generations that brings smile in all.
