People may be familiar with the names of Manish Malhotra and Vikram Phadnis, fashion designers to the stars. Lalbaug resident Rupesh Pawar, 40, is also a fashion designer but in a wholly different sense.
People may be familiar with the names of Manish Malhotra and Vikram Phadnis, fashion designers to the stars. Lalbaug resident Rupesh Pawar, 40, is also a fashion designer but in a wholly different sense.
Among the few tailors in the city who are inundated with requests to dress up Ganesh idols before Ganeshotsav, Pawar literally dresses up the gods.
Pawar has been making costumes for the Ganesh idol for Lalbaughcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshoutsav Mandal (LRSGM), organisers of the most visited pandal in the city, for the past 19 years. This year, around 40 lakh devotees are expected to visit the pandal.
Having Lalbaugcha Raja as a client makes Pawar a popular choice among other Ganesh mandals in the city, but he refuses to work for suburban mandals since he wouldn’t have the time to visit the pandals personally.
Currently, Pawar is making attires for 13 large idols, ranging from 8 to 20 feet in height, and for about 30 small ones which will make their way into people’s homes.
“Whatever I am today is because of Lalbaugcha Raja. I am just a simple tailor but I am recognised because of this Ganesh pandal,” he says modestly.
Pawar takes four hours to make one set of clothes for an idol and begins work two months ahead of the festival. “The mandal has given me the right to choose the colours for the costumes, including the stoles that the idols wear,” he said.
While keeping the attire simple, Pawar has introduced new features over time. Since last year, he has been bringing a special rim from Surat to embellish the dhoti worn by the deity.
“We had to bring the dhoti border from Surat because we do not get this kind of elaborate handmade designs in Mumbai. Sharad Gahdigaonkar and Omkar Pahate are the two people helping me with this job,” added Pawar.
Pawar charges Rs2,000 to Rs2,500 to dress up idols less than eight feet in height and from Rs3,500 to Rs4,500 for the taller ones. But for Lalbaugcha Raja, he does all the work for free. He says, “It is a big honour for me to dress up the king of Mumbai’s Ganeshas.”
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