Yogesh Nagvenkar
As Goa is celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi, with beautiful idols of the Lord of Wisdom, we must also appreciate the creativity of our clay artists. Passionate clay artists across the state silently work to create marvels in clay. The idol making work begins 4-5 months prior to the festival and no part of the state is untouched by their art. There are people who are not professional clay artists but who indulge in the art as their hobby, while there are some who preserve the art their family tradition.
Karpe cousins Gauribhushan and Vishvesh who hail from Sanguem and, otherwise are into hardware trading, have also embraced the 75-year-old family vocation of Ganesh idol making. Gauribhushan’s father Shivdas was an excellent artist right from his youth. “My father started this artistic more as a passion and less as a business but eventually, as the local demand grew, he took this up as an entrepreneurship, offering his artistic skills to the locals. He started making various designs in Ganesh idols. He inspired me and my cousin Vishvesh to take this art forward,” shares Gauribhushan.
Karpes promote ecofriendly clay idols but assert that the demand for lightweight plaster of Paris idols is also on the rise because of convenience. Admitting that the number of idol makers in Goa is decreasing irrespective of the government support, the Karpes maintain that they continue due to their passion and also to keep up their family legacy. The younger generation representatives of Karpes, Sarthak and Siddhant have decided to join hands and take the art forward. Karpe’s make Ganesh idols for Quepem Police Station, Zareshwar Ponda, Gogol Sarvajanik, Fatorpa Sarvajanik, Malkarne Sarvajanik and Curchorem Sarvajanik Ganesh Mandals.
A similar story is that of Damodar Deulkar from Kalay,Sanguem. A businessman and a passionate artist Damodar runs a printing press. “Art runs in our DNA,” says Damodar. Deulkars have been into the Ganesh idol making for the last 150 odd years. “It began from my great grandfathers’ times,” recalls Damodar. “I was inspired by my father who was also an artist. He learnt idol making from his father,” says Damodar who starts making idols from May every year. The family restricts to making idols only from the local clay.
As per the village tradition, a place has been specially allotted for taking the local clay which is first worshipped in a ceremony by the local Gaonkars. It is then taken to the Ganapati Chitrashalas for further processing. Damodar points out that government support is not enough. As the idol making involves hard work and dedication, the artists should be remunerated well, he feels. Damodar’s son Vedant, still a student, has taken interest in taking the family legacy forward.
