Can someone choose idol making out of challengeIJ Probably yes, as Aruna Sarkar started making idols of lord Ganesha and Goddess Durga in 1998 when someone underestimated her claiming that women cannot get into the field of artisans.
Today, the 50-year-old lady has become a popular name among the veteran artists of Mana camp, located on the outskirts of Raipur.
“I decided to make idols the day a group of men challenged my womanhood. Since then, it is a hobby for me and my family members. We hire artists from West Bengal and target to complete atleast 250 idols of lord Ganesha with prices ranging between Rs10,000 to Rs3 lakh’’, she said.
Dozens of huge Goddess Durga idols are also added to the list,” said Sarkar who is also the Panchayat Secretary of Banrasi village of Mana for almost two decades owning the idol making unit — Maa Vaishnavi Murtikala.
Interestingly, the revenue generated from the ‘hobby’ is distributed among the hired artists and the remaining is used for managing the amount spent in purchasing the raw materials for the mud-based idols.
Unfortunately, this year the family could not absorb sufficient manpower resulting in the creation of hardly 50 Ganesha idols. “My mother-in-law is mentally as well as physically strong. But, it was not easy to accept the orders of a crowd this time due to manpower crunch. She has made about 50 idols on special demand,” said Ankita Nigam Sarkar, the daughter-in-law of the lady artisan.
Meanwhile, stressing on the preparations, the artist’s son said his mother begins sketching of both Ganesha and Durga idols from November month after getting printouts of the idol designs from internet.
“I am particular about the face of my idols. Right from moulding the clay to the last finishing, it is only my responsibility to look over the facial structure and expressions. Drawing and colouring the eyes are my priority,” said Aruna Sarkar.
“Being a true artisan, it is highly important to maintain quality of idols,” she added.
Meanwhile, customers arriving here exuded their satisfaction to take up lord Ganesha idols from Aruna’s place.
“For past four to five years, we are preferring idols of Maa Vaishnavi Murtikala because of the wonderful designs,” said Akhilesh Kumar, a member of Ekta Ganesh Utsav Committee, Pandri.
Similarly, Surendra Jain, President of Gokul Regency Apartment who was here with the society’s kids to take an idol said, “We were the first customer to book order for lord Ganesha this year. It was in July. People from all the age groups in our area appreciate our Ganpati idol.”
Talking to The Pioneer, Aruna concluded her interaction saying that idol making is still a challenge. It is all about management. There was no electricity for two days. Despite the fact, we continued completing the idols without sleeping to meet today’s deadline.
To showcase Aruna’s talent across the world, her son, an MBA degree holder maintains a community page on Facebook which is regularly updated, especially in the ongoing festive season.