Written by: Upneetpansare
2 min readMumbaiSep 10, 2007 12:00 AM IST
First published on: Sep 10, 2007 at 12:36 AM IST
With Ganesh Chaturthi a week away, the unassuming Ratnakar Kambli 65 is among the busiest residents of Lalbaug. After all, he is not just another sculptor in what was once the city’s textile hub. Kambli is the one who creates the idol that’s easily the most popular Ganpati during the 10-day festivities—Lalbaugcha Raja, thronged by millions of devotees every year.
Ever since the tradition of Lalbaugcha Raja began in 1934, the Kambli family has been instrumental in creating the 12 feet tall idol. In fact, the art itself attracted Ratnakar because of the Raja—he would watch father MD Kambli mould the clay to form the most venerated Ganpati idol in Mumbai and feel drawn to follow his profession.
“I have a diploma in commercial arts. But my father learnt all his skills on the job,” he says. He usually makes eight to 10 big idols every year, having in the past made some of the more famous idols like the Khetwadi Ganapati, Chhagan Bhujbal’s Ganpati at Mazgaon and a few others in Girgaum.
This year’s Lalbaugcha Raja began to take shape nearly a month ago. The spray painting and moulding is done by artisans while Ratnakar himself handles the finer aspects like painting the eyes. “The eyes convey everything,” he says. “It’s after years that I have accomplished this skill.”
There are other minutiae to bear in mind while crafting the Raja, he says. While most big idols take the main road to Girgaum Chowpatty on the day of visarjan immersion, Lalbaugcha Raja follows a winding path through lanes in Lalbaug, Chinchpokli and Girgaum, meeting more devotees on the way before reaching Chowpatty.
“So, while constructing the idol, we have to keep in mind that it has to be manoeuvered through these narrow lanes,” Ratnakar explains.
Rupesh Pawar, vice president of the Lalbaugcha Raja Ganeshotsav Sarvajanik Mandal, is all praise for Ratnakar. “I have been working with him for eight years. He is excellent… He does not treat idol making like a business.”
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