Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Sept 15: Barely two days to go for Ganesh puja and idol-makers are busy giving final touches to the idols in different parts of the city.
Fifty-five-year-old Bichitra Nanda Behera of Laxmisagar has been making idols since he was young, as it is his family business. He learned making idols from his father but loves to experiment with design and raw material.
Apart from using regular material for the idols, this year he has made Ganesh idols with rice paste, pulses, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and fennel seeds.
“It has been more than 35 years since I started making idols of different deities during various festivals. I love to experiment with new things. Every year I try to do something innovative. Apart from regular idols with clay and colours, this year I have made one Ganesh idol with rice paste and another with mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and pulses. The height of the rice Ganesh idol is 6 ½ feet and around 5 kg rice has been used to prepare it,” he said.
The rice idol looks like it is made of white marble whereas the one made of mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and pulses is dyed in natural colours. “The height of the idol made with various seeds and pulses is 9 feet and it took us around three days to smear the outer body with seeds and pulses. The body of the idol is made of mustard seeds, the dhoti is made of fennel seeds giving it a natural green colour and the crown of the Lord is made of fenugreek seeds giving it a dark yellow colour,” he added.
Stating that he only wants to be appreciated for his work Behera said, “I can make idols from anything. I have made idols using snail shell, glass pieces and beads which were very popular. During major festivals some puja committees prefer to experiment with ideas and they are the ones who purchase my idols. I don’t have any fear of experimenting with ideas. I just want people to appreciate my work and creations.”