Nagpur: With his entire life being steered by Lord Ganesha, it is not surprising that Chandrakant Bediger selected the entrance of Ganesh Tekdi temple to showcase his skill of drawing a Ganesha using any name given to him.
Without any formal training in art or calligraphy, Bediger has been practicing this art using a marker pen and Deonagari script to give the shape of Ganesh to names bearing two to seven letters. The 12th pass Bediger, who hails from Sangli, says he was leading a wretched life as a waiter when one day, frustrated with his circumstances, he decided to commit suicide. “It was July 17, 2013 at 2am while I was contemplating killing myself, I got this inspiration,” says Chandrakant who began doodling with the name Balchandra and came up with an image of Ganesha.
After a bit of practice, he gave a performance of this skill at a school in Ikalkaranji and got a chance to demonstrate it during the Ganesh festival. “I have never looked back since and now in bus, trains or public places, wherever I travel across the country, I draw the image of Ganesh weaving the names of those who ask me,” he says and adds that he charges only Rs10 for this and will never increase his fee.
Celebrities, politicians, Marathi television and film actors alike have got their names written by him. “The entire team of the serial Tarak Mehta Ka Ulta Chashma was impressed with my art,” says Bediger, who draws the left profile of the lord of wisdom. “Left profile of Ganesha is considered to be auspicious while the right one is considered strict and stern form which has to be kept and worshipped with care,” he says.
Drawing up to 100 names in an hour, Chandrakant, who was in the city to demonstrate his skill at a medical conference, says, “Not just Hindus, even Muslims and Christians get their names written by me. I am very happy to do this work as now I earn ten times more than the meagre salary of Rs4000 that I earned as a waiter.”
Sitting outside the Tekdi temple from 1.30pm onwards, Bediger wrote down more than 80 names in five hours on Sunday before leaving from Hyderabad.
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