dipchand bihari
post news network
Bhubaneswar, August 25: A four-foot tall mouse and a 22-kg Laddoo are but necessities to meet whatever transportation and gastronomic needs this mammoth idol of the elephant god may have.
With Ganesh Puja round the bend, Puja committees across the Capital are competing with each other to cast Ganesha in multiple forms. But the 25-foot tall, 35-foot wide idol commissioned by Winners Association near IMFA Park takes the cake.
According to the association members, the idol would dwarf any other idol from the city this year. It comes as no surprise that the hand that would hold a 22-kg laddoo, will feed a tummy that is of a circumference of 24-feet. And the snake coiled around the lordas an ornament, would be 40-foot long. The organisers say the idol alone is costing them Rs1.5 lakh excluding decorations.
Jitendra Rao, the president of Winners Association, told Orissa POST: “The idea of making such an idol came from Thailand. In Thailand they have a majestic statue of Lord Ganesha made of concrete. We thought we should make our idol of matching proportions.”
Last year the association had commissioned an idol of the lord standing. This year’s idol is of a Ganesha reclining in ‘Ananta Sayan’. The association members claim their idols have been “been the talk of the town” at every Ganesh Puja.
Work on the idol had commenced last month and 15 workers have been employed for its making. Sculptor Arun Kumar Mohapatra is supervising the work.
“Our team includes workers from West Bengal and Maharashtra and we have been asked to create a replica of the idol in Thailand,” Arun said.
One other positive aspect of the idol is that it would be entirely ecofriendly. “We are not using chemical colours to paint the statue. Straw, cotton cloth, mud, jute sacks and natural colours are being used. We have also asked Arun to ensure that the instruction is followed. Members of the association will also clean the river after immersion,” Dilip Sethy, the secretary of the association, said.
The pandal that is to accommodate the idol is also being prepared to match the grandeur of the idol. “The entrance will rise up to 40-feet and the pandal will also accommodate idols of Lord Shiva and Parvati. It will be decorated with lights and flowers. Sixty workers are engaged in decorating the pandal. In all we will be spending close to Rs7 lakh on the festival,” Jitendra, the association president, said.
Besides the visual treat, the puja pandal will also host activities such as ganesh bhajan and Odissi dance during the eight days of festivities. “Members of an association for the blind and some other visually challenged persons from Baripada will present devotional songs at the pandal,” Dilip, the association secretary, said.
Winners Association, which was established in 2000, has since been creating unique idols each year.
