No child’s play, Lord is in the making

The  Narkes’ home at Mahim comes alive with cackles. Inside, children aged six to eight from three families are having a whale of a time getting their hands dirty while making Ganpati idols.

Driven by their concern for the environment, the Narke, Gadiyar and Savla families have decided to make their own Ganpati idols. An added incentive was the opportunity to let the kids’ creativity flow freely. 

“We are not expecting to come up with idols which look like commercial ones. We are fine with even crude replicas,” says Malavika Gadiyar, parent of six-year-old Manomay.

Upset with the adulteration she saw in the Ganpati idol she purchased from a shop last year, Gadiyar decided to make her own idol when her friend, Monisha Narke, whose daughter wanted a miniature replica that she could herself carry around, suggested the idea.

“Since I had done a class [on clay modelling] last year, I readily agreed,” says Gadiyar.

Narke wanted to involve children in the idol-making process as she wanted to nurture their talents. “This sort of work helps in nurturing children’s artistic talents,” she says.

At Narke’s home, Gadiyar first taught the kids how to knead the mix of shadu mati, potter’s clay and water into dough that is soft enough to be moulded. The children are then asked to come up with their their own designs and shapes. 

Eight-year-old Ananya Narke says she likes to make the ears of Ganpati idols. “They are easy to make,” she adds candidly. She also likes to smoothen the body surface.

Diva Savla, 6, has taken a fondness to noses. Sakhsi Narke, also 6, indulges in decorations and spends most of her time making circular and elongated ornaments to deck the Ganpati’s crown.

While children at Narke’s home rely on Gadiyar for instruction, Girish Tahiliani’s family at Khar look to the Internet for lessons.

“We learnt through trial and error. Last year, our Ganpati idol had cracks. We tried to fill them up. This year, we have taken more care. The children enjoy [the process of idol-making] as they get to learn something and parents love spending time with kids,” says Tahiliani.