Joining the myriad manifestations of Lord Ganesh during the ‘Vinayaka Chavithi’ will be a replica of Mumbai’s famous Lalbagh Ganesh idol that will be worshipped in several localities here during the 11-day festival commencing on August 29.
Artisans at Krishnalanka near ‘Kanakadurga Varadhi’ are giving final touches idols depicting the Lalbagh’s Ganesh idol, popularly called as ‘Lalbagh Ka Raja’ in Mumbai. Festival organisers from Vijayawada, Guntur, Tenali and other surroundings areas have already placed orders for idol. Artisans, who came from Ahmedabad seven months ago, saw the ‘Lalbagh Ka Raja’ Ganesh idol in Mumbai online and made it at the make-shift workshop in an open place near Krishnalanka to attract organisers. “We made this model of the idol for the first time in the city. We are hopeful of getting good response from buyers,” says Dinesh B. Bante, an artisan.
According to him, 40 out of 90 idols have been sold so far, and more orders are likely to pour in from Wednesday, as the inauspicious ‘Amavasya’ ended on Monday night.
The idol makers first started working on a model, and despite some hiccups on its height and width, they successfully made a seven-foot high idol that resembles Lalbagh Ganesh.
“We studied every aspect of Lalbagh Ganesha with special focus on its attire and jewellery and made the same idols here. It’s really a great experience making these idols for the first time,” Mr. Dinesh explains.
He says over 100 kg of Plaster of Paris, 20 kgs of coir and bamboo sticks along with different varieties of colours were used to make each idol. ‘Lalbagh Ka Raja’ is the cynosure of all eyes during the Ganesh festival every year, as thousands of devotees, including Bollywood actors, have a darshan of the Lord seated on a gigantic throne with glittering ornaments.
