Clay Ganesha idol demand shoots up

Vadodara: Lord Ganesha will go completely green in the city this year. Within days of the government announcing a ban on celebrating Ganesh festival in public, the demand for clay idols shot up considerably in the city. Ganesh idol makers said that most of the devotees placed orders for eco-friendly clay idols over the last one month and the demand is increasing.
“Over last few years, the trend of installing clay idols has been rising steadily. But this time, the majority of our customers have placed orders for only clay Ganesh idols and the demand has gone up by 30 to 40 per cent. In fact, 90 per cent of the idols we sold were made of clay. This is unprecedented,” said Ghanshyam Kahar, one of the prominent idol makers in the city. He said that many people, who had placed orders for Plaster of Paris (PoP) idols, cancelled it after the government banned public celebration of Ganesh festival.
“I am still getting inquiries and last moment orders for clay idols. This year, the city will hardly see any Ganesh idol made of PoP,” Kahar told TOI. The idol makers hadn’t anticipated such rush for the clay idols and hence many are facing tough time meeting the orders.
“There is a ban on taking out Ganesh immersion processions so the devotees would have to immerse the idols at their home. A clay idol immerses easily and quickly. So most citizens are preferring small clay idols this time,” said Mangesh Chavan, whose three generations have been in Ganesh idol making.
Even the Ganesh pandal organizers, who have been installing tall PoP idols since decades, have gone for clay ones this year. “It wasn’t possible to erect a pandal in public so we decided to install the Ganesh idol in a small shop in our area. We bought a clay idol as it would be easier to immerse it,” said Mahendra Sonavne of Ganesh Bal Yuvak Mandal that has been organizing the festival since the last 50 years in Baranpura.