A Bengali song drifts through a makeshift workshop at One Town Area as Visakhapatnam stirs outside. In the soft, early light, the first hands reach for clay. Someone begins kneading a fresh mound; another bends over an unfinished Ganesha, working a thumb gently around the eyes. In a corner, a coal fire is already glowing, sending up the first promise of breakfast. The day has begun at the makeshift workhouse that belongs to Binay Pal’s, an idol-maker from West Bengal, as it has every year for over two decades.The festive season is approaching, and there is little time to pause.
Ganesha idols in different foams made by the artisans from West Bengal with clay brought from the banks of the Ganga ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi in the One Town area of Visakhapatnam. The traditional clay idols are increasingly preferred by devotees as an environmentally friendly alternative to plaster-of-Paris idols.
| Photo Credit:
KR Deepak
This year, the team has made 250 Ganesha idols, each different from the other. There is a Ganesha gleefully sliding down a slide, another perched on a cycle and one whose form resembles a leaf. Some carry playful, contemporary touches, including hints of cartoon characters. Beneath the variety is an old craft that Binay and his team have carried from Bengal to the coastal city for the past 26 years.The artisans arrive in Visakhapatnam every May and stay until after Dasami. For years now, the festive calendar has meant leaving Kolkata behind just when Durga Puja preparations begin there.“For us, making idols is as good as Durga Puja. If we don’t come here, we won’t be making money,” says Binay.Luchi, aloo dum and a Bengali menuWhile the artisans work, another familiar rhythm unfolds in a corner of the workhouse.Cook Arjun Maji heads towards the kitchen, where heaps of onions and potatoes sit alongside vegetables, carefully stacked and ready for the day’s meals. A large cauldron rests over a coal fire. Breakfast is on its way — luchi and aloo dum.
