Vocal For Local: This Ganesh Chaturthi, Get Your Idols From This Eco-Friendly Artisan In Alwar

Alwar: With the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi around the corner, preparations are in full swing in Rajasthan. Alwar, famous for its historical monuments is stealing the show with its unique and innovative eco-friendly Ganesh idols. ETV Bharat spoke to an artisan from here, whose family has been in this profession for several decades now.

Ram Kishore's ancestors made idols from clay. As time passed by, the demand for making eco-friendly idols increased gradually. Today, Kishore's family makes more than 10,000 idols for Ganesh Chaturthi alone. 

"To receive delivery of idols on time, the order has to be booked two months in advance. A photo of the model has to be also provided while placing the order. This is because it takes time and effort to construct an idol. It cannot be done in a hurry," said Kishore. 

Our specialty is that our idols are handmade. "If the influx of orders is high, we take time but do not finish work in a lackadaisical manner. Some idols take 24 hours while others can take 10 days to be completed," he added.

Ram Kishore's son Monu Kumar said that to make the idols, the soil is first brought from Rajgarh and Andhwadi. "After the soil is transferred, a concoction is prepared by mixing black, yellow and brown soil following which the process of idol-making starts," Monu said.

Most of these idols range between four inches to five feet. "The price of these idols is fixed as per their height and materials used. Starting from Rs 30, the price of idols goes up to a whopping Rs 20,000. 

Today, our idols are exported to big distributors both in India and foreign countries including Australia, Canada and the US among others.