A distinct Rajasthani flavour will pervade Thanjavur during this year's Vinayaka Chaturthi festival as the unique, brightly painted Ganesh idols glowing in all hues have become a hit with the organisers of Chaturthi festivals.
The countenance sports a well-defined North Indian tinge and the unmistakable florescent water colours with the predominant pink and yellow standing out make up the visage of the Vinayaka idols these families from Rajasthan make.
The idols range from one foot to seven feet.
“Although we are basically from Rajasthan, we have been camping and making dolls and selling them trade in Tamil Nadu for the past few years.
“We hop from one town to another after a few days of camping.
“This year, our Ganesh idols have found many takers and we are happy for that,” says the head of the family Premaram of Pali district in Rajasthan.
His family was originally involved in making earthen ware items and slowly caught up with plaster of Paris moulding of idols.
They then graduated from making small idols of Lord Krishna, Goddess Lakshmi and so on to mould and paint bigger icons of Ganesh that caught the imagination of Thanjavur organisers this year.
The idols he and his son Dinesh Ram make are really attractive with the pleasing colours and imaginative creation of Ganesh with His divine parents, Ganapathy on peacock, and such other icons that one does not usually associate with the local makers.
Innovative thinking
Innovative thinking on designs and colouring are alluring aspects of these Rajasthani Vinayakas.
“Painting, we make do with water colours, is the painstaking job involved. The florescent yellow, pink, green, and red are what set our idols apart from the local people although they have their own unique style,” says Dinesh Ram.Spray painting is done on water colour after the dye is cast in plaster of Paris although the artisans claim that they make the idols out of chalk powder.
The toil these Rajasthani families put in every day results in the creation of scores of captivating Vinayakas on varied styles and that is seen in the meticulous manner in which they paint even as the youngest member of their family, Rattan Ram aged all of seven, plays an unidentifiable Marwari tune in his Banzili in the background.
