Nagpur: Giving a wide array of choices to the buyer, Ajay Sahu, a vendor of specially crafted idols since the last 25 years, has lined up a variety of Ganesh idols drawn from various parts of the state.
There are idols made from multani mitti from Sawantwadi, shadu matti from Pen, red clay from Yavatmal and Sawargaon in Narkhed taluka. “But the best sellers have been the Vruksha Ganesh designed by Dattatrey Kothur of Mumbai,” says Sahu, who has set up stalls at a community centre in Khamla.
Giving details of the other idols, Sahu explains, “We have these 100% eco-friendly idols which are handmade with clay and coloured with natural and food colours. To give them a smooth finish, they are covered with a fine layer of multani mitti and then painted,” he says. “No jewellery adorns these idols as even that is made out of plastic,” he says.
Explaining the concept of Vruksha Ganesha, Sahu says, “These idols are placed in planters filled with soil containing seeds of vegetables or exotic flowers which will bloom in the coming winter season. On the immersion day, water is to be poured on the idol 6 to 7 times at half-hour intervals and it will get totally dissolved and mix with the soil.” All of these idols have been sold, he says.
To give an impetus to the sale of eco-friendly idols, Sahu clicks the pictures of those who buy them and puts them on his Facebook page. “Despite all the encouragement and education, even those who come with the intention of buying an eco-friendly idol get attracted to a PoP one,” says Sahu, who has
PoP idols made by 26 artists from 7 different parts of the state.
“The finishing of these idols, the jewellery that adorns them and the complete look is what makes them so irresistible,” says Sahu, even as he tries to convince customers to go for eco-friendly ones.
Ask him why he keeps the PoP idols if he doesn’t want them to be sold and he says, “Just like the customers who are constantly struggling to make the right choice, I too have to consider the economics of my business. The handmade clay idols are expensive and less attractive while the PoP ones are cheaper and beautiful.”
“Out of every ten idols, six that are sold are still those of PoP. Most of the handmade idols that I pitch for remain unsold,” he says, adding that since 1995 when he first started this business, his cumulative losses are Rs 26 lakh.
“I started with 75 idols, all made of clay. But for more than 15 years, only PoP idols were sold. It’s only since 2015 that this trend of clay idols came and since then I am trying hard to promote them,” he says.
