A peek into the lives of these lesser known artists on Ganesh Chaturthi

While the Ganesha idols are showered with offerings such as modaks, sweets, gifts, and flowers over the ten day period of Ganesh Chaturthi, the artists behind the beautiful sculptures struggle to even meet their meagre daily expenses.While some lose money in this "godly" business, some lose their near and dear ones.

Hyderabad (Telangana): Come Ganesh Chaturthi and one can witness beautifully and meticulously created clay idols of Lord Ganesha on the dusty roadside of cities across the country. When these idols are worshipped over 10 days of the religious festival, offerings such as modaks, sweets, gifts, and flowers are showered upon them, while the artists behind the godly sculptures struggle to survive.

28-year-old Prakash has making idols since he was an eight-year-old. He has a family of eight to feed and the only source of income is the sale of Ganesha idols during Ganesh Chaturthi. Prakash, like several other idol makers, lives along National Highway-65 of Telangana in a dusty little tent.

He was frantically painting some of his last idols ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi yet his concentration was akin to that of a scientist working in a lab, undisturbed by all the heat, dust, ambient honking and traffic sounds.

Prakash had to take a loan amounting to Rs 15 lakh from a private money lender in order to buy raw material for his idols this season, but he didn't seem too hopeful to recover all that he had invested into the business owing to the delay in sourcing the loan and the consequent delay in making idols.

Nature hasn't been too kind to him either, Prakash says that his customers are comparatively less this season following the delay in monsoon.

"The sale is less this time around. Earlier people from the farming community would buy the idols in large numbers, but this time around following the delay in monsoon, most of our customers from that section did not show up," said Prakash.

In a single season, Prakash and his family usually make idols ranging between 250 and 500, while some get sold, some don't.

In order to repay the loan and get the money lender off their back, Prakash like several other idol makers takes loan from another money lender to repay the first one, thereby getting stuck in the vicious cycle of debt.

"This is an expensive business, most of the raw material is sourced from other states, including the clay. One gallon of water costs around Rs. 40, a sack costs Rs. 250, a bundle of jute weighing 50 kilos costs Rs 1,000. Smaller idols don't fetch a lot of money, so we had to make bigger idols in order to be able to repay the loan, " said Prakash.

While some lose money in this "godly" business, some lose their near and dear ones.

Shanti, a woman in her late fifties, lost her son to a road accident while he was crossing the highway to fetch food for the family.

Shanti giving a finishing touch to one of her Ganesha idols

Although her little tent was filled with beautiful Ganesh idols, none of them were made by her as she was depended on her only son to sculpt these idols.

From being an artist, Shanti was reduced to a dealer. She took loan from a private lender and bought several unpainted idols and coloured them.

Her hand moved with deftness and precision as she drew intricate strokes on the figurine. Wearing a faded blue lehenga-kurti Shanta added the final touches before sale began.

Once she is done, the statue is placed alongside the hundreds of other beautiful, shiny Ganesh Idols – all lined-up in rows on the roadside, each vying to catch the eye of a prospective devotee and buyer.

"I didn't make any idols this year. I took money on loan and bought these idols. I sell a single idol for around Rs 200. I lost my son last year in a road accident. I can't stop thinking about him, I am all alone, I don't know how to survive anymore, " said Shanti as she burst into tears.
Shanti who migrated to Telangana from Rajasthan around 12 years ago, added, "I have to take care of the business in order to survive and feed myself. There is nobody to feed me, to give me clothes. I am somehow passing my time now, the memories of my child keep haunting me."

These lesser known artists have been living on the roadside of fast-moving cities, trying to squeeze into spaces between these godly idols of varied shapes and sizes under their tiny tents. Despite the hardship that this art form brings along with it, for Prakash and Shanti, idol making is an age-old tradition started by their forefathers, and they are simply taking the legacy forward.