K.A.Viswanathan
With Ganesh Chaturti festival on August 22, Mumbai is buzzed with activities with people visiting markets to buy Ganesha idols in spite of the restrictions. Due to non-availability of transport like trains and buses many are unable to move beyond their area to buy the idol of their selection as also the sellers are finding it difficult without customers.
The idol is made in different locations in Mumbai. But with the restriction in sizes, the artisans who normally make big idols are finding it difficult to make smaller ones. At Kumbarwada in Dharavi area, one artisan Yusuf Zakharia makes eco friendly Ganesha idols for the past eight years following his father’s tradition. Yusuf’s idols do not have any polluting substance such as paints or plaster of Paris. At the time of immersion, the idol dissolves in five minutes in the pot which is also given along with the idol. The pot can be reused to keep plants. Now he has been making one-foot height idols for home, as per rules and people are showing more interest in buying these. And many are buying in bulk.
Due to pandemic, the Giri shop in Matunga was not able to hold an exhibition of Ganeshas which they have been keeping for years. However, they have made it in a smaller scale outside their shop at Matunga. Rekha Giri, the owner of the shop said the idols were brought from various places in Tamil Nadu. Due to restrictions it has taken a long time to reach Mumbai and many idols get damaged on the way, she said. This time they have brought only smaller idols from 3 inches to 30 inches in height due to restrictions and all are eco friendly.
Another known idol in Matunga a 55-year-old Pragati Seva Mandal attached to the 400-year-old Marubhai temple at King’s circle always keeps a minimum of 20 feet height idol and mostly in a dancing pose. But this year they are planning to keep only a small 3 ft idol in a small area near the temple with the facility to view from the road said Mr Anil Gawand, chairman of the Mandal. Unfortunately, he got stuck up in the US for the last nine months and is unable to come for the festival due to non-availability of flight and organizes everything on phone and WhatsApp. He said the idol will be taken to the small pond in Wadala area where BMC is planning to set up for immersion.
Matunga flower merchants association which is keeping the idol for the last 48 years is planning to keep a small 4 ft height Ganapathy, without much flower decorations. Normally they keep bigger idol and change the flower decoration four times during the period and for this, they bring flower decorators from Chennai said Mr S.Arumugam secretary of the association. This time it will be on a very smaller scale he said.
The most disappointed vendors are the flower merchants. Normally during the Ganapathy days, they make good business. This year due to restriction no one will buy big garlands and do flower decorations. The president of the association P.Subbiah says “nearly 500 families are depending on their business and they have lost heavily during the lockdown and the restriction on the size of the idols now will aggravate their conditions”.
Even the manufacturers of mandaps for Ganapathy are a very dejected lot as due to stoppage of trains people are not coming from suburbs to buy mandaps. These cannot be taken in taxis or busses. The Brass bands and DJ’s are also in a financial crisis as they have no orders for the past few months due to lockdown.
Photo credits:Ravi Nadar
