PONDA: The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is exactly a week away, and preparations for the celebration have begun to gain momentum. The workshops where Ganesh idols are being crafted have shifted into high gear, with artisans working tirelessly through the night to meet their targets. However, the same cannot be said for 67-year-old Lala Surya Chari from Shiroda, Ponda, known for his remarkable ability to create idols solely by hand, without using moulds.
Lala Chari typically crafts an average of 15 idols a year, a seemingly small number compared to the hundreds produced by most local workshops. However, his specialty lies in crafting custom-made idols according to the requests and suggestions of his customers. Chari places great emphasis on perfecting his craft, paying meticulous attention to detail, which he believes can only be achieved by human hands. He primarily receives orders from Borim and Shiroda, and in addition to Ganesh idols, he also creates figurines of goddesses Saraswati and Durga.
Beyond his talent in idol making, Chari is a multi-faceted personality who has made significant contributions to the local theatre scene. He has been involved in more than 250 stage plays, and in 2019, he received the prestigious Kushta Bhat award from Kala Academy in recognition of his unwavering and selfless service to the arts. Chari firmly believes in giving back to society and organises annual theatre workshops for children, with over 40 kids participating each year. These workshops, an initiative spearheaded by Chari himself, are held at Vishwakarma Kalamandap near Shiroda market.
“Some people develop a deep personal connection with the festivals and the deities they hold dear. They want to celebrate these festivals in their own unique way. My customers provide me with pictures of Ganesh idols they admire, and based on these images, I craft the figurines manually, without the use of moulds or templates. Creating these idols is a form of meditation for me, and I can feel the positive energy flowing through the natural clay as I work on them,” beams Chari.
“Children, too, are like clay, and they take shape according to the way you mould them. I am attempting to do the same through these theatre workshops, and children have shown a tremendous response each year,” he added.
