With little time and patience, you can actually make idols from waste papers, clay, flowers and grains and what’s more, your idol won’t add to spoiling the sea.
The countdown for the arrival of Mumbai’s favourite God has already begun. While in a week’s time, the city will once again dance to the tunes of ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya’, those of you Ganesha devotees, here’s a chance to give a personal touch to the idol that you plan to install at home.
With little time and patience, you can actually make idols from waste papers, clay, flowers and grains and what’s more, your idol won’t add to spoiling the sea, when immersed.
Paper
Avinash Patkar has been sculpting Ganesha idols for the last thirty years. This time around he has made about hundred idols out of waste paper and fifty clay idols.
He lists a few easy steps to make idols of waste papers at home.
Material:Waste paper, ghati gum (available at idol makers or from book binders), whitening powder (available at hardware store), flour, Ganesha mould of your choice (available at Crowford market and with idol makers).
. Tear a few waste papers and tear them into small pieces. (With 1 kg paper one can make twelve idols)
. Soak these paper bits in water for about 2 days and grind them in either an idli batter machine or in a grinding mixture. Stop when fine pulp is prepared.
. Take hundred grams of gum ghati (available with idol makers or with book stores that bind books). Dilute it with little water and mix it with paper pulp.
. After a day’s time when this mixture appears like chutney, add some whitening powder (available at hardware store).
. Dough the mixture and make fine chapattis of the dough. Plaster these rotis in the Ganesha shape mould (buy from idol makers).
. Once the mould is stuffed, seal it with layers of flour paste (Mix some water to flour and make a fine paste) and dry paper. Cover the mould with three layers of flour paste and paper and let it dry for a day.
. Thereafter pull off the protective layer gently.
. Get the idol out of the mould, smoothen the rough layers with sand paper and paint the idol with water colours of your choice.
. Paper pulp Ganesha idols lasts for long till they don’t get wet.
Clay
The hobby store ‘Hobby Ideas’ shares a few steps of making Ganesha idols out of clay
Material - Ceramica plus clay or air drying clay (Available at stationery stores and Hobby Ideas)
Note: Please keep your hands damp when working with clay.
. Roll a medium sized ball in ceramica plus clay for making the stomach of the ganesha.
. Take the same amount of clay and roll it in to a coil to form the circular base for legs.
. Place the ball of the stomach on the circular coil. Make small sized ball for the head Another small ball fashioned in the form of trunk and stick at the centre of the head.
. Make two small balls and pinch them to flatten for ears and stick them on the sides of the head.
. Roll coils for the hands and flatten from one side to form the palm of the hand. Stick the blunt side of the hands on the side of the stomach just below the ears.
. Add two small flattened clay palettes for the feet.
. Add embellishment as desired. Let the Ganesha dry for 2 days and paint with acrylic colours.
Flowers and grains
These are the easiest. On a wooden canvas draw Ganesha, spread glue all over and paste your favourite flowers. Similarly, paste different grains and pulses according to different colours and shapes to give your painting cum idol a definitive shape.
These do not last for long but are best for those who keep Ganesha for half a day or just a day.
Vegetables
Arrange different shapes vegetables in the form of Ganesha. With a vegetable carving knife you can carve. You will need a plank that will support the idol all the time.
Now sit back and wait for appreciation and complements coming your and your Ganesha’s way!
d_riddhi@dnaindia.net
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