The Reincarnation of Lord Ganesha – Story Behind the Making

Over the years, being an artist in the world of Wedding Photography, tends to create an inbred penchant for great craftsmanship of any kind.

Mumbai provides you with exactly that if you have a keen eye for it. At this time of the year, The City of Dreams is the most vibrant and cheerful since it readies itself for the joyous festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. Hence, it has begun to shape up as my hunting season to capture wonderful artwork, Ganesh idols, the artists themselves and the wonderful story which connects them all. This article intends to outline the immaculate artwork by great Indian artists which translates to the reincarnation of Lord Ganesha every year filling the hearts of all Mumbaikars with faith and unity.

Travelling through the big city, I came across a grand workshop which has been constantly outgrowing every other unit in the area so much so that they currently occupy a ground with a make shift shed which houses 350 ganesh idols of all sizes. People from all religions were present there to select their ganesh idol for the festival or just marvel at the work presented by these great craftsmen. That strong feeling of togetherness and unity spreads like wildfire on very few occasions in the city, one of the most prominent ones is Ganesh Chaturthi.

When I started off my career in candid photography I got a chance to meet a very humble and friendly lad, Nikhil Khatu, who runs this grand workshop along with his father Murtikar Rajan Khatu and his firm name – Kalasagar Arts who works in strong association with Sharad arts, the firm of Nikhil’s late uncle – Murtikar Vijay Khatu. Over the years, they have become the biggest name in their line of work in Mumbai.

Sitting alongside his Ganesh Murthi creation, he shared his story of how his family legacy came to be when Nikhil’s grandfather, Murtikar Ramkrishna Khatu, made the first ganesh idol when our country celebrated Independence and since then, their operation kept growing larger every year and the gift of this wonderful art was passed on from generations.

The team rents out the ground for 4 months every year where over 120 artists, workers and painters from different parts of the city come together to create the magnificent idols of Lord Ganesha. Nikhil was very enthusiastic when he mentioned how these artists come together from different parts but always act as one unit to make this workshop a big success. He says it is fascinating how they create, share, restructure ideas and make them alive every year only for the hundreds and thousands of Ganesh Bhakts to marvel at the work and bow their heads down in peace and prayer. The immaculate detailing, art work and structure is what makes people believe that Lord Ganesha has been reincarnated and is amidst his followers, listening to their prayers and blessing them with peace.

During our conversation, I decided to go a little further and understand the entire process of how these magnificent Murtis are made. Nikhil explained the process to me in simple 5 steps mentioned below –

Step One – Clay Models are made of various parts of Idol followed by the process of molding the parts with Fiber.

Step Two – They cast these various parts into shape. Casting is a process of shaping the parts with a mix of POP (plaster of paris) and Kathiya (coconut) and left to dry up for one day. Rods are inserted into each part to hold the cast in place.

Step Three – All the parts of the idol are merged together by welding the rods and fabricating the body and the magnificence of Ganesha starts coming to life.

Step Four – Then comes the use of fire guns to burn all the extra Kathiya jutting out of the idol.

Step Five – Now, the painters come into the picture and begin with the beautification process of the idol. First, they apply a coat of primer and leave it to dry. Once the idol is completely dried, they colour the body entirely. Next the process of shading begins which will be followed up with finishing touches.

The entire process can be done in as little as 3 days irrespective of the size. But with the magnitude of orders they take between 1-3 months to complete the idols ensuring their best in every Ganesh Murti. This is the major reason why people start booking orders from January to not miss out on having their beloved Ganesh Murti from Kalasagar and Sharad Arts workshops.

Major difficulty during the process is to manage the crowd which keep passing by marveling at the work, enquiring about the idols, Mandals (buyers) coming to check the progress and giving their suggestions. But the team does well, to keep it well organized.

This time of the year is a sight which will leave you mesmerized as over 350 idols are created by over 120 artists and their creativity and skill merged together as one unit. The Mandals come in to collect the idol a day Ganesh Chaturthi, each having its own flair and welcome ceremonies.