This story is from August 31, 2016

The celebration of community

Every Ganesh Chaturthi the villages of Marcela, St Estevam and Cumbharjua put up grand sarvajanik celebrations with displays so spectacular in their creativity, that people from far and wide make it a point to visit them.
The celebration of community
Every Ganesh Chaturthi the villages of Marcela, St Estevam and Cumbharjua put up grand sarvajanik celebrations with displays so spectacular in their creativity, that people from far and wide make it a point to visit them.
While the men of these villages have always been known for their artistic bent of mind, the last decade has seen their art being increasingly brought into focus, thanks to unique experiments with creating mythological backdrops or socially significant scenes for the celebrations.

Another unique aspect about the artists of these three villages is that they strictly use eco-friendly material.
Pradeep Parab from Marcela, who holds a masters in fine arts from Mumbai’s prestigious JJ School of Art, has been involved in making decorative works and creating scenes for sarvajanik Ganesh celebrations for more than a decade. Those who have viewed his previous creations will vouch that his creations simply amaze with their artistic excellence.
This art teacher has been on leave for the last few days, as he is busy creating a ‘Vrindavan Ganesh’ scene, an idea he got from the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, a Hindu religious text.
“I want to highlight the importance of Tulsi, who was an exalted devotee of Lord Krishna,” Parab said. He starts working on his subject seven to eight months in advance. In the Hindu tradition, the tulsi plant (holy basil) is a symbolic representation of a mythological female, and every Hindu household usually has one.

It is potted in a decorative structure called tulsi vrindavan, erected in front of the house. And every evening, the lady of the house places an oil lamp before the tulsi. This tradition has been on the wane for some time now.
For his scene, Parab shares that he is creating the tulsi vrindavan structure from a mixture of sand, iron ore and jaggery, with smaller versions of the vrindavan encircling it. To make it look as real and rustic as possible, Parab says he will not use o any artificial colours. And, finally, to complete the scene, he will create a water body around it. No electric lighting of any sort will be used; only oil lamps.
The project is estimated to cost 3.5 lakh, and has been sponsored by a local, Prashant Bhandari, says Parab.
A few meters away, members of the Navelkar family are busy working on another idea — Ganesh in the form of Lord Vithoba (a popular deity of Maharashtra) carrying his beloved devotees, the poet-saints of Maharashtra’s Bhakti movement.
Girish Navelkar has taken a break from his freelance art work. He explains that the entire scene will be created out of thermocol with minimal use of Plaster of Paris. Very conscious of the polluting effects of thermocol, he says they mostly re-use the medium. “We always re-use the thermocol from the previous year to avoid litter,” he says.
The creation of Ganesh idolsby the Navelkars stemmed out of a passion some 13 years ago. Today, their art is hugelu popular. Besides thermocol, Navelkar says they have used sponge and paper in their creations. They place strong emphasis on creating something different every time.
A few kilometres away, in St Estevam, a picturesque village with a rocky landscape flanked by the Cumbharjua canal on one side and the River Mandovi on the other, four men are immersed in the work of creating a ‘kulagar’ (orchard). Here, the artists do not involve themselves with raising funds; this is the responsibility of Kalayuvak Sangh, an association of locals.
Tukaram Chodankar, a freelance artist, decided on the idea to be developed into a magnificent scene for the festival. This time, he says, the entire scene is being created out of natural resources like coconut palms, arecanut husk and jute.
The scene also depicts a spring at the entrance to the ‘kulagar’ for which the water will be pumped from the canal.
“The devotees can wash their feet before they enter,” says Chodankar, adding that the entire cost of the project is over 4 lakh.
Four paid workers have been engaged, while other works are carried out by villagers themselves. The main art work is done by Chodankar.
In the adjacent Cumbharjua village, under the banner of Sriram Devasthan, youth are busy working on another majestic scene, one that depicts Ganesh mounted on a huge serpent. Though metal rods are used to create the skeleton of the structure, the entire scene is built from jute and paper. Jute ropes form the trunk of the serpent, while pieces of coconut shells, cut hexagonally, form the scales. The height of the scene is more than 10 feet, and it looks not just majestic, but also aesthetically beautiful.
The boys, some as young as 10, began working on the project in June after the project was ideated by Suraj Tari, says Mahesh Tari, a carpenter by profession. Nikhil Pagi, Subha Tari, Abhishekh Phadte, Aniket Phadte, Yash Sawant, Nikhil Pagi, Srideep Phadte and Srijau Tari contribute regularly, he shares.
In the Tiswadi hinterland, sarvajanik Ganesh celebrations have evolved into magnificent exhibitions of artistic excellence. STOI tracks the preparation
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About the Author
Bindiya Chari

I'm a journalist with experience of more than a decade. I have covered politics, tourism, health and also done some off-beat stories. Apart from passion for journalism I have penchant for photography, trekking and travelling.

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