PhotoSay 2 : Ganpati Visarjan - A Visual Treat!

>>Mayuravar Baisoni (Riding on a Peacock)

The Ganpati immersions took place last Sunday, thereby ending the Ganesh celebrations for this year. The day is completely chaotic for devotees as they take their idols for immersion, but at Girgaum Chowpatty i noticed that there was a definite method to the madness. Inspite of people being in huge numbers, the crowd management was top class. Idols of all sizes could be seen and devotees in varied colors of the gulal were dancing to the Nasik Dhols. Some Mandals had a separate van which just contained the huge speakers that were belting out typical Bollywood Ganpati Visarjan songs like "Tujhko apna jalwa dikhana hi hoga, Agle baras aana hai aana hi hoga" from SRK's verison of Don and the 'Vaastav' aarti amongst others. Luckily it wasnt pouring during late afternoon as it was earlier in the day, giving me a comparitively better lighting condition to shoot in.

>>A Palkiwala Ganesh

>>Ganesha befriends a Dragon!

>> Ninja Ganesh

>>The Divine Lord

>> Home Idols being taken for immersions

>>Warrior Ganesha

>> A Delighted Ganesh Devotee

>> Rang De Gulal

>> Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Yaa!! (Come early, next year)

Take Care

Ciao!

Shree Ganesh - PhotoSays!!

Ganpati Bappa Moriya!! Seems like the mantra is in the air, announcing the on going Ganesh Chaturthi. Its said that the elephant headed God is remembered before starting a new chapter in life. This blog has completed half century, and what better timing could i have asked for. It wasnt planned to finish off 50 posts in this month, but i guess it was destined.

So after having completed 50 here, i need to move onto bigger things. That dosent mean i am going to cease to use this space. Just that i want to start off with a new concept on this blog which i have titled PhotoSays!! Its basically a mix of Photograph + Essay = PhotoSay!

I had been toying with the idea for a long time, to do photo essays. Its basically going to be about one aspect presented in the form of multiple photographs on this blog. I plan to put up atleast one PhotoSay a month. That ways i can add some value to the blog, give variety to it and hopefully get more hits:D

With Ganesh Chaturthi going on, i decided to do a photo essay on the workshops that make these huge idols before the actual festival, than just going ahead and shooting the idols when the festival is on. I had went to the workshop thats organised by Mr. Khatu at Parel Rly Quarters. Its a huge place, making idols of all sizes.

Getting Started
The process starts off with the unpainted Ganesh idol being given a base coat of the paint. The artist here is just going to spray paint the idol with a spray painter with a thin nozzle.















Final Touches
The Ganesh idol seen alongside was being given a final touch by the artists. The regal stance of the idol is what attracted me towards it.










Opening the Eye
This is a crucial part of entire process. There are special artists to open the Ganesha's eyes, as the hand has to remain rock steady when painting the eye. One mistake and its a disaster.









I believe the eye is the most beautiful part of the entire idol. This is just one of the beautiful eyes i came across.










The Feet
The painting was not yet complete, but i just couldnt resist clicking the feet.








Putting up a few Ganesh idols i came across in the workshop. I am just showing three here as i have many more shots and it is confusing to select the better ones:D





Peacock is generally considered to be the vahana of Kartikeyan, Ganesh's brother, so i was pleasantly surprised to see a Ganesh on top of a peacock. This idol was a definite crowd puller.





































So with that i would like to conclude the first installment of my PhotoSay! Actually i started with this project a bit late, so i couldnt really get the whole process from scratch to the complete idol. But this trip to the Ganpati workshop was a great learning lesson. Hopefully, next year i will do a full blown post on the entire idol making process. Till then,

Take Care

Ciao

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to one and all!! Ganpati Bappa Moriya!!