Artisans no more idols to emulate for GenNext

Two days ahead of the festival, market areas in the City are making brisk business of colourful idols of Gowri and Ganesha. But it is no easy tidings for the artisan community that makes these idols.

With lack of enough human resources and clay, artisans are finding it a challenge to keep their business going. In recent years, passion for art is the sole factor that is keeping them afloat.

Those with small-scale business find it easier to buy their idols from Mumbai or Kolkata these days. Chandru, an artisan from Ramanagara who sets up his stall in the City every year in the hope that it will fetch him better business, either buys the idols from bigger markets here or gets them from other cities. Since his is not a big establishment, he sticks to selling small clay idols. “There is a demand for eco-friendly idols and people ask us for those without paint. I do not keep bigger idols as the buyers are in limited numbers. Associations and individuals who want bigger ones prefer to get them directly from other cities,” he said.

Vinayaka and Co best exemplifies the difficulties faced by idol makers. Speaking to Deccan Herald, Srinivas, senior artisan and proprietor of the company, said their challenge begins with trying to find the right clay for the idols. The family has been in the business for nearly seven decades and it was set up by Srinivas’ father 67 years ago. Traditionally, the family fetched clay from Anekal and Huskur lakes, which are out of bounds now.

“There is a prohibition on digging clay from there and officials threaten us with serious consequences if we are found in the vicinity,” he said. Another challenge is the availability of human resources for the job. Srinivas fears that once his time passes, there will be none to keep the tradition alive. “Nobody wants to work hard any more. Moreover, youngsters do not consider this a viable profession,” he said. Through the seven decades, the family has ensured that all their idols are handmade.

In spite of serious competition from artisans in Kolkata and Mumbai, Srinivas has managed to keep his business robust. Every year, for the past 15 years, he has been shipping idols abroad for the festival and this year he has already shipped 10,000 idols to the US alone. He has sent about 2,000 idols to Australia. The idols should not exceed seven inches in length to be sent abroad, he said.

Artisans are also sculpting idols based on select themes. This year, one of the popular themes is the drought that has hit Karnataka. Vinayaka and Company has a special Ganesha idol looking towards the sky for rain, while villagers around are praying to him to give them respite from the drought. The other common forms of Ganesha this year are Spiderman, Ganesha reading a book and the deity in the form of Buddha.