Behind the grand displays

Covering a distance of around 2,000 km, idol makers from West Bengal reach Hubballi three months before the grand community festival begins. Even fine clay makes its way from the banks of a distributary of the River Ganga to Hubballi in preparation.

When the commercial hub of North Karnataka hosts community Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations — which have a history of over a century here — gigantic Ganapati idols made with the special craftsmanship of these Bengali artisans draw people from across the region.

Hubballi’s 11-day celebration of the festival has had a close link with West Bengal’s artists for almost three decades. As the popularity of large idols spreads, Ganapatis made with the Bengali artists’ skill in Hubballi have also reached other places in the region.

Preparing tall idols requires the special skill of using bamboo and wood sticks, stuffed with dry grass and jute inside, with clay applied on the outer layer. This is the reason Ganeshotsav samitis prefer skilled idol makers from outside the state to build the large idols. After the ban on plaster-of-Paris idols got stricter, demand for these idols has increased.

Appu Pal, an artist from Krishnanagar in Nadia district of West Bengal, started preparing Ganapati idols in the state almost three decades ago. He was first invited to Hubballi in 1994 by Bengali railway officers stationed here to make Durgamatha idols for Navaratri. Since then, his team has been a noted name for Ganesh Chatutrthi as well. 

Another artist, Sanjay Pal from Kolkata, has been engaged in idol-making in Hubballi for the past seven years. This year, his 20-member team has created more than 100 idols.

These two teams from the banks of Hooghly river have made more than 200 large idols (measuring anywhere between four feet to 23 feet) in Hubballi this year.

This year, Appu Pal has used four truckloads of clay from the Hooghly river and six trucks of local clay to make over 95 big idols. “Using Ganga ki maatee (clay from the Ganga) in idol preparation is our tradition. It also has greater fineness, required for finishing,” he says.

The artist adds that his team consists of 23 people. Along with the 23-foot-tall ‘Hubballi Cha Maharaja’, his team also makes idols for Haveri, Gadag, Ranebennur, Koppal, Dandeli and other places.

Following Ganesh Chaturthi, the artists start preparing Durgamatha and Sherawali idols for Navaratri in the region. They go back to West Bengal after this, and return to Hubballi again in May to make Ganapati idols.

“We started installing a 21-foot idol in 2008. We used to get idols made by Pune and Kolhapur artists initially, but switched to the idols prepared by Sanjay Pal’s team seven years ago, when plaster-of-Paris idols were banned,” says another samiti chief, Pandurang Meharwade.

Wide reach

This time, an order has been placed from as far as Hosadurga in Chitradurga district, for an idol made by Appu Pal and team in Hubballi.

“We come to Hubballi to see Ganapati pandals every year. Impressed by the idols, we decided to get one from here this time,” says B V Kushakumar, a member of a trust that organises these celebrations at Hosadurga.

Local artist Basavaraj Kambar of Old Hubballi, who makes idols upto the height of eight feet, laments that the increasing popularity of Bengali artists is affecting the business of local idol makers. “They use more wood sticks and grass, while we use more clay. Naturally, they charge comparatively less for idols, due to which more people are preferring their idols,” he says.

The trend of installing large-size idols in Hubballi began in the 1990s, after celebrations started getting bigger, according to Amaresh Hipparagi, who works with several samitis. The number of community Ganapati idols has crossed 900 in Hubballi city and its outskirts, he adds.

The number and scale of the idols in Hubballi have overtaken even Belagavi, which has the credit of hosting the grandest Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in the state.