This year, it’s Ganesha the destroyer of corona
LUCKNOW: With Ganesh Chaturthi on Saturday (August 22), most of the idol-makers fear that the restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic will hit their livelihood. But, a few like Niloy Mitra firmly believe that creativity will help lift their fortunes.
A post-graduate in fine arts from Arts College here, Mitra, along with his colleagues, have been working on concept-based idols ahead of the occasion.
During the festive season, trained artisans set up workshops to make idols in Talkatora Industrial Area’s labour colony for their livelihood and Mitra’s workshop is one of them.
“You have to think differently to sell your products. The pandemic has hurt us economically, but has not hit our creativity. It has brought out more creative ideas out of my team,” said Mitra
“Thinking about creativity in idol making, we decided to relate the subject of idols with corona. We thought Lord Ganesha could be our saviour and we are praying that he destroys corona. With a bit of creativity, we can sell the idols at a higher price,” he explained.
He said, “There are idols in which one can see Ganesha as destroyer of corona. In some, he is defending Ladakh from evil forces. Some idols show him as God of prosperity while in others he is blessing everyone for development.”
Mitra said, “I was fond of making idols as my father was also an artist. So I decided to go for BFA and MFA. After completing post-graduation in fine arts, I set up my own workshop here and roped in more students of fine arts.”
Meanwhile, additional municipal commissioner Amit Kumar said, “Last year, more than 100 pandals of Ganesh Puja were set up with permission . But this year pandals and gatherings are not allowed due to the pandemic..”