Mangalore: The city has erupted with the mirth and joy to rejoice on the occasion of ‘Ganesh Chaturthi’. People across the city are vibrantly celebrating the day, while preparing a traditional feast to relish, which is better known as ‘Chappan Bhog’ (a feast of 56 various variety of food).
States like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and other northern states celebrate the festival flamboyantly, dancing, coloring each other, and following the trend keeping and worshipping Lord Ganesha’s idol for ten days, though the option remains to do so for a minimum of one day as well.
Unlike other states, in Mangalore, people celebrate the festival with profound rituals and keep the idol for the ‘Chaturthi Day’ itself, starting the rituals in the morning and submerging (Visarjan) the idol in the evening, at the city’s well-known ‘Mahamaya Temple’ situated near the Car Street.
Though POP idols are cheap, city sculptors seem to have adopted the policy of making eco-friendly Ganesh idols out of clay, avoiding Plaster of Paris (China Clay or POP) for idol making.
“People here like to follow their tradition deeply, hence today also many people avoid taking POP made Ganesh idols and prefer to take clay-made idols. Temple priests too suggest to people to buy clay made idols because clay is known for its purity which POP lacks,” avers Ravi Bhandhary, a sculptor from Car Street.
Sculpting a Ganesh idol out of clay takes a lot of time and require patience whereas POP made idols are easier to shape.
Generally, a sculptor sculpts around ten to twelve idols a day. Clay made idols take a day to complete and a week to get dry. Thereafter idols are painted imaginatively and colorfully which takes another three days. Usually the making of an idol takes around 15 days.
Year after year, the city is witnessing high spirits among people for celebrating ‘Ganesh Chaturthi’. However, on the other side, there are people who actually avoid to bring Lord Ganesha to their home, the reason being, if bought once thereafter every year it should be bought.
Why a one day celebration?
Keeping a Ganesh idol at home, following all the traditional rituals including having the presence of a priest to offer prayers, and providing traditional sweets and meals, to visitors and guests over the entire 10 day period puts a hefty burden of Rs: 5,000 to 10,000 on the household budget. Hence, people here, believe that faith works more rather than following the trend like other states and celebrate the festival on the Chaturthi day itself.
Against the clock:
One more sculptor from the Car Street itself, Kishore Pai said, “This year we made around 48 idols and we took three months to complete all of them. While some people also come at the last moment, we don’t refuse but sculpt the idol and keep it for drying.”
“However, at the last moment people can’t get a perfect colored idol, as on wet clay, paint does not hold. Also many people who shift to Mangalore from other states, don’t know much about the system here, where, city sculptors work on prior orders only; only a few readymade idols are found in the city a day before the festival,” Pai added.
Faithful salutation:
For people celebrating the festival, Peethas (a small squarely shaped chair, where god is seated) is as important as Lord Ganesha’s idol – a single scratch often makes people buy a new one.
Vasudev Kamath, who visited the store to take his idol home, explains: “We are keeping Ganpati idol since 50 years and every year we increase the height of our Ganesh idol because the moment the idol arrives at our home it becomes part of our family; and as any family member’s height increases, so we too increase the idol’s height by a half inch approximately.”
Pai states that people are also very fond of buying silver and golden jewelery for their lord such as silver and golden garlands, two-sided Ganesha’s teeth, his Modaks (laddoo), crowns, trunklet etc.
People buy jeweled Lord Ganeshas too, from a city’s jeweler located near to the New Chitra talkies, which is very popular because of their exquisite work.
People here do not like to use words such as ‘buy or purchase’ for the Lord’s idol, also city sculptors do not use word ‘sell’ to their customers.
Moreover, city sculptors do not demand excessively from their customers and accept anything that they are offered, as for them making idol is not a business, but a good deed and fortune through which they are performing the act of sculpting idols.
Ganpati idol adorn with two-sided golden teeths, silver crown weighs 1.2 kg and a trunk-let
Image showing the mouse, snake, weapons, two-sided silver teeths and modak for Ganesh idol.
People carrying Lord Ganpati’s idol at their house
For more photos click down ‘more photos’
