Demand surges for clay Ganesha idols

Tirupati: Bommala Colony, a locality near Mangalam on the outskirts of pilgrim city has secured a big market over the years by making clay idols of Lord Ganesha for Vinayaka Chavithi. Their craftsmanship has gained them large number of customers which made it into an unorganised industry.

Highlights:

• Bommala Colony in pilgrim city is famous for making clay Ganesh idols
• Idol makers in Tirupati received more orders from Karnataka, TN as governments banned PoP idols
• This year orders might cross one lakh mark

Every street in the colony is filled with huge idols of Vinayaka which are getting finishing touches. There are 100 families in the colony said a senior artist Tirumala Prasad Babu, who has been making the idols for the last 33 years. His father and grandfather were also in the same profession.

He said that they do not know any other work except making Lord’s idols. His father was a Nandi Award winner in 1984 during
NT Rama Rao’s tenure. They get orders from many places in and around the district. This year the orders might have crossed more than one lakh idols, which brought cheer on their faces.

The reason is that the neighbouring states Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have banned the use and making of Plaster of Paris (PoP) idols. A very few artists in those states, who can make the Ganesh idols with clay. As a result, people from both states with bulk orders queued up in Bommala Colony. Babu added that he and his two brothers live together and get around 900 orders this year and were very busy in completing them.

To a question, he said that the cost of idols varies between Rs 1,500 to Rs 40,000 depending on the model and size. Based on the demand, the prices will surge which clearly shows the huge volume of their turnover. However, they say that this year only the demand was overwhelming.

Normally, they have less profit margin as they have to spend more money on raw material. The work starts every year soon after Sankranti and will go on till the Vinayaka Chavithi. They will have no work for three months thereafter. Babu made it clear that the process of making clay idols is time taking. They have to take so many precautions during the entire process. All the time they are worried about the weather too. A drizzle can melt an entire idol within no time, he said.

Babu stated that they have design idols with new themes to keep up pace in the competition.This year, the latest attraction was “Baahubali – The conclusion” in which the Ganesha will be on sitting on rat and aiming the arrow. Last year, they made “Baahubali–The beginning” in which Ganesh was made carrying the Siva Linga with his hands. Another attraction last year was Ganesha idol seeking Special Category Status for the state.

In 2015, the idols were made with vegetables to highlight the rising prices of vegetables. In the making of idols, they use the mixture of white clay, paper pulp, chalk, tubers and maida which make the idols dissolve easily when immersed in water. The mixture can also be used as fish feed. Babu says that they can do profitable business if the state government gives them some incentives and encouragement by banning the making of PoP idols.

By V Pradeep Kumar