Ganesh Utsav hits fever pitch, but Mumbai's sculptors had hoped for more
Despite demand for idols being better this year compared to the last 3 years, idol sculptors and decorators say they’ve had to hike prices to cushion themselves against rising raw material costs and the hits from erratic monsoon patterns.
Devotees who welcomed Lord Ganesha into their homes this year had to shell out more money given the erratic weather conditions and the post-COVID rise in demand for idols. Like Maharashtra's farmers, whose livelihoods have been threatened, and in many cases cruelly crippled, heatwaves and erratic monsoons have taken their toll on artisans and sculptors who depend on the state’s favourite festival for their survival. First, the heatwaves sucked the moisture from the ground, making clay hard to come by. Then, when the monsoons finally came in the second week of July, they were accompanied by floods.
For one thing, this meant too much water in the clay to make it usable. Second, and probably the harsher cut, was that the floods destroyed idols that were getting ready for market. “Right from last year, idol makers have been busy making idols to sell this year, but floods destroyed most of these idols. All our efforts have no value now,” says Santosh Kambli. Kambli makes Ganesha idols in Mumbai’s Lalbaug area, which is famous as a hot-spot during the festival.
As these sculptors readied to restart their preparations and salvage what they could, the monsoons abruptly slowed down. Maharashtra clocked a rainfall deficit in August and September. Many regions of the state are on the verge of being declared drought-hit. In this situation, artisans started running out of water necessary to make the clay moldable. “The shortage of water has resulted in a rise in the price of water as well. Water used to cost around Rs 100-150, now it costs around Rs 300,” adds Kambli.
The shortage of water and workable clay has forced many idol-makers to increase the amount of Plaster of Paris (PoP) they use in their idols. These costs have also risen, unfortunately –almost doubling in many cases. Siddhesh Digoya, who owns and operates an idol sculpting workshop in Mumbai’s Parel tells us, “We use imported PoP from Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries. Imported PoP offers good grip, which is very essential when making large idols. However, imported PoP has become expensive. Earlier, a small bag of PoP would cost Rs 100, but now it costs over Rs 200.”
The costs of other raw material – from fibre to iron to paint to transport -- have also risen substantially. So too have labour costs. So workshops have been forced to hike prices to maintain margins. Kambli says that a medium-sized idol, which would have carried a price tag of Rs 1,000 last year, now carries a price tag of between Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,800.
But sculptors and workshop operators maintain that this hike is hardly substantial, given the losses they have faced not just earlier this year, but over the last 3 years when celebrations were subdued in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s not just increased labour and raw material costs that have resulted in costlier idols. Idol decorations have also become more expensive, given the rise in demand – after all, local governing bodies have removed restrictions on Ganeshutsav celebrations after 3 years (permissions were delayed last year, resulting in very few, and less extravagant last-minute orders).
Kishore Pawar, who supplies cloth to drape the idols, says, “The price of clothes have increased by close to 25 percent on average. The charge of sewing has also risen by around 12 percent. So a dhoti used to decorate the large idols that would cost Rs 50,000, now easily costs Rs 6,000 more."
Various jewellery was used in the past to deck up Lord Ganesha and that has too become expensive now. Rajdeep Yadav, who designs such jewellery, points to a 25-30 percent rise in material costs. This is higher when real gold is being used, as it is for idols housed in famous pandals like Lalbaug, Chinchpokli, and Girgaun. He adds, "For original gold work on a small-medium idol, the cost can be anywhere between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000. For large idols above 14 feet in height, if the earlier cost was around Rs 1,50,000, the cost this year would be around Rs 2,30,000."
All this has added up, making this year’s celebrations a little heavier on the pocket. Devotees, however, are not to be deterred, and Mumbai’s Ganeshutsav has kicked off in style, especially after a 3-year hiatus. Artisans, however, are not celebrating just yet. While the higher demand has raised some spirits, the price hikes they have been able to effect still leave them with a lot of ground to cover. They’re now hoping for their favourite Elephant God to smile on them as the year wends on.
(Edited by : Arvind Sukumar)
First Published: Sept 21, 2023 8:43 PM IST
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