Mumbai: Makers of large Ganesha idols themselves prefer small moortis

MUMBAI: Monday's festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is a red letter day for Maharashtra as the state welcomes its patron deity home for 10 days of celebration. The best offerings of flowers, fruit, incense and modak sweetmeats are laid out to please Lord Ganesha.
Rajesh Samaga, the priest of a temple in Marol, Andheri East, said, "It is not mandatory for a pujari to preside over the rituals. Householders themselves can perform the aarti and place offerings like durva, modak and fruit that the deity hods dear. On Monday, people may avoid installation or worship between 7.30-9.00am which is Rahukaal. It is better to perform the puja before 7.30am."
The centrepiece of the festival is the Ganpati idol. Interestingly the very moortikars who carve the tallest idols rising up to 20-25 ft for mandals, themselves choose to install small moortis averaging 2 ft for worship. Although other households keep small moortis too, what makes the idol makers different is that they do not promote the culture of large sculptures although they are in the business.
Santosh Kambli who sculpts the 12 ft Lalbaugcha Raja has a 3 ft idol in his Lalbaug home. "Naturally space constraints apply to household moortis," he says.
Sculptor Reshma Khatu's workshop at Arthur Road manufactures nearly 100 towering Ganeshas like Chandanwadi, Chinchpokli Cha Chintamani, Lanes 2 and 3 in Khetwadi, Grant Road Market, Vile Parle Cha Raja, Pragati Seva Mandal in Matunga and Mumbadevi Cha Raja. She says, "In my case, our village plot is not restricted by roofs or ceilings. But size is not a guiding factor. Our traditional 2 25 ft moorti is made from shaadu mati (clay) and installed in my native village of Valan, Raigad. It is crafted in my workshop and transported there. Despite its miniature size, scores of people from nearby villages gather for a glimpse of the Khatu gharana (clan) idol given that my father Vijay Khatu had gained fame as a maker of spectacular moortis in Mumbai." This year Reshma has crafted a Chintamani style Ganesha seated on a throne for her household.
The trend of large idols is not popular in Maharashtra's villages given that immersion takes place in water bodies or ponds which are the only source for drinking and bathing. Seaside villages do not host tall moortis either.
Another renowned idol maker Rajan Zhad crafts the famous 22 ft Tejukaya Ganesha apart from 20-21 ft moortis in Delisle Road and Vile Parle. "But in my own home in village Malwan Tondawle, Sindhudurg, I keep a 2.5 ft clay moorti. That is the classic style of celebration. Earlier my family would carve the idol but since we all moved to Mumbai for work, my cousin sources it locally."
Who better than fishermen leader Daodar Tandel to relate the after-effects of immersion. The Cuffe Parade resident said, "My Ganpati is carved from clay and is just 2.5 ft tall although we have large open space along the seafront. God does not apportion his blessings based on the size of the moorti. If anything, he is pleased with those who do not pollute the waters."