Indore (Madhya Pradesh): A day before the 10-day Ganesha festival begins, Indore is glittering with shops presenting colourful, eco-friendly idols in every street and colony. Indoreans are excited and browsing all the temporary pandals selling idols of Lord Ganesha to pick the best one for their homes.
Last year, the festival was tinted with the sobering effects of coronavirus. No grand celebrations are allowed even this year, but the fear of catching corona has reduced.
Shoppers are out to witness an array of eco-friendly idols in the market. This time, although the usual, large-scale idols for grand pandals are few, the number of idols is more.
Idol-makers have prepared smaller, more creative idols this year. The idol designs which were usually available in only large sizes are now available in smaller sizes too.
From simple traditional designs of blessing Ganesha who is enjoying laddoos to the modern Ganesha with dholak and drums are available in various sizes in the market. Some unique patterns that can be seen in the market are the use of shading to bring out the intricate designs and patterns in the idol and beautifully carved Riddhi and Siddhi next to Ganesha.
‘Tilak’ turban, ‘Scindia’ turban & ‘Dastaar’ wearing Ganesha
§ Adopting the demanded styles, vendors have prepared idols that cater to people’s needs—some idols adorn ‘tilak’ turbans, ‘Scindia’ turbans, ‘Dastaar’ and a variety of crowns (mukuts)
§ A vendor, Pandit Narendra Tripathi, said, ‘We brought 8 craftsmen from Bengal to prepare these idols in traditional style and most of them are with Riddhi and Siddhi making it more auspicious’
§ He added that, this time, they had prepared their unique style in small and medium sizes too
§ ‘Since most people will take the idol home, smaller sizes are sold in higher numbers after Covid-19 now,’ Tripathi said
Ganesha idol from 4” to 2.5’
§ Eco-friendly Ganesha idols available in the city vary from 4 inches to 2.5 feet. ‘All of my large-size idols are already booked by people, and, according to the trends, the smaller-size idols will sell at the very last minute,’ Shirish Jamle, a vendor, said
§ He has brought about 1,000 idols from Pedgaon, Maharasthra. ‘I’ve been bringing these idols for 9 years and always benefited from the trade,’ Jamle said
§ The price of idols varies from Rs 301 to Rs 3,101
