Artisans take a breather from idols

Idol sculpting begins at Lal Darwaja, Ranitalav, Sahara Darwaja, Sub Jail Road and other areas of the city a good three months before the festival. But this year round, people have begun making idols in isolation as is still not become a full-fledged activity.

An estimated 5000 people earn their livelihood by making idols with a special clay brought from other states, while some even use plaster of Paris to make larger idols.

“The order of the police commissioner regarding the size of idols and the recently concluded `adhik maas’ could be the reasons for the delay. But the process will pick up soon and there will be no negative impact on the festival,” Samiti member Purnesh Modi said.

He however added that the Samiti would request people to minimise expenses on the festival and instead donate the money for the welfare of the armed forces fighting in Kashmir.

Though last year the Samiti has issued permits to 5000 groups last year who wished to install idols and carry them for immersion on the tenth day along with the procession, more than double the idols were immersed. Samiti office-bearers, however, said that this year it will not increase the number of permits for idol installation.

There has been disagreement over the size of the idols too. While the police has issued a stern warning to the Samiti to ensure that all idols installed are not more than six feet, the Samiti contended that it might not be possible to implement this rule overnight. “It took us about 10 years to bring the size down to 11 feet and we have asked the commissioner to allow installation of idols up to nine feet.” a samiti member said.

One theory making the rounds for the delay in idol-making this year is the the flood that hit Surat city, within a week after the immersed idols floated on the Tapi. According to popular beliefs, idols should be totally submerged and resurfacing or partial immersion of the idol amounts to its desecration. Excessive silting in the river bed and unusually tall Ganesha idols were the real reasons behind the problem last year.