The congested bylanes of the potters’ colony of Kummari Veedhi has sprung to life with the city gearing up to welcome Ganesha, the remover of obstacles.
The 20 potter families, who work on clay, have a good reason to be hopeful this year. More than ever before, the demand for clay Ganeshas has reached peak in the city and the potters of the colony are working overtime with a shifting preference from plaster of Paris images to eco-friendly ones. “This year we have made three times the number of small sized clay Ganeshas this year as compared to last year. We have also received bulk orders from Rajahmundry and neighbouring villages,” says 65-year-old K. Satyam, a traditional potter.
His humble dwelling is surrounded by heaps of clay Ganeshas with hardly any space to move about. His son K. V. Trinadh and daughter-in-law sit engrossed in giving finishing touches to the clay images. The entire colony has stopped making Plaster of Paris Ganeshas this year. “About three years ago, PoP Ganeshas were very much in demand. Now we have stopped making them as people only come asking for clay Ganeshas,” says Trinadh. He also took workshops in schools in the city demonstrating the making of clay images.
According to market estimates, the demand for clay Ganesha images has touched a peak of six lakh this year as against one lakh last year. Several organisations in the city have stepped up their campaigns for eco-friendly festivities by conducting workshops at educational institutions.
Awareness campaignAt A.S. Raja College, MVP Colony, Bapuji Rural Enlightenment and Development Society (BREDS) conducted an awareness campaign on clay Ganeshas on Saturday. Several students participated in the workshop and took home their clay Ganeshas at the end of it. “Our aim is to imbibe a value system among people where eco-friendly initiatives become a way of life and also bring about a change in the production and consumption side. This campaign for Clay Ganeshas is a part of such environmental awareness programmes we have been conducting in schools and colleges,” says A. Ramakrishna Raju, chief secretary of BREDS. The organisation has been conducting awareness campaigns for the past six years in the city. This year it will be conducting workshops for clay Ganesha images in 10 educational institutes.
AP Pollution Control Board in association with India Youth for Society and Gandhi Centre, will be distributing 10,000 clay Ganesha images at the cost of Rs 2 on September 4 and 5 in their effort to support the campaign for eco-friendly festivities.
