Ganpati Bappa Moriya!! Seems like the mantra is in the air, announcing the on going Ganesh Chaturthi. Its said that the elephant headed God is remembered before starting a new chapter in life. This blog has completed half century, and what better timing could i have asked for. It wasnt planned to finish off 50 posts in this month, but i guess it was destined.

With Ganesh Chaturthi going on, i decided to do a photo essay on the workshops that make these huge idols before the actual festival, than just going ahead and shooting the idols when the festival is on. I had went to the workshop thats organised by Mr. Khatu at Parel Rly Quarters. Its a huge place, making idols of all sizes.

Getting Started
The process starts off with the unpainted Ganesh idol being given a base coat of the paint. The artist here is just going to spray paint the idol with a spray painter with a thin nozzle.

Final Touches
The Ganesh idol seen alongside was being given a final touch by the artists. The regal stance of the idol is what attracted me towards it.

Opening the Eye
This is a crucial part of entire process. There are special artists to open the Ganesha’s eyes, as the hand has to remain rock steady when painting the eye. One mistake and its a disaster.

I believe the eye is the most beautiful part of the entire idol. This is just one of the beautiful eyes i came across.

The Feet
The painting was not yet complete, but i just couldnt resist clicking the feet.

Putting up a few Ganesh idols i came across in the workshop. I am just showing three here as i have many more shots and it is confusing to select the better ones:D

Peacock is generally considered to be the vahana of Kartikeyan, Ganesh’s brother, so i was pleasantly surprised to see a Ganesh on top of a peacock. This idol was a definite crowd puller.

So with that i would like to conclude the first installment of my PhotoSay! Actually i started with this project a bit late, so i couldnt really get the whole process from scratch to the complete idol. But this trip to the Ganpati workshop was a great learning lesson. Hopefully, next year i will do a full blown post on the entire idol making process. Till then,

Take Care

Ciao

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to one and all!! Ganpati Bappa Moriya!!