Sculptors battle rain with fire sprays to ready Ganesh idols
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Ranchi: The ongoing monsoon, marked by above average downpour this year so far, is giving tough time to idol makers in the state capital ahead of the upcoming Ganesh puja later this month.
With few days left for the festival, idol makers are running against time to ensure their creations take shape to meet the deadline.
With moisture refusing to let the clay or paint settle, artisans have now resorted to an unusual but effective solution: fire sprays to dry their creations.
"For the eight-foot heavy idols, a full gas cylinder is consumed just in the drying process. The time varies depending on the thickness of the clay and the weather outside, but without fire sprays, we could never meet the deadlines this year," said sculptor Prasanjeet Hazra.
Hazra, who has been making idols for more than a decade, said orders this time extend beyond Ranchi to neighbouring districts like Ramgarh and Hazaribag. "We are preparing idols priced anywhere between Rs 1,000 and Rs 80,000. The heaviest ones, costing around Rs 60,000 to Rs 80,000, are the toughest to dry. Still, devotees want them ready in time, so we must keep pushing through," he said.
To shield their work from relentless downpours, artisans have improvised by covering half their open spaces with tarpaulin sheets and building temporary sheds.
The challenges go beyond drying and sheltering the idols. Sculptors say repeated moisture damage has forced them to repaint many pieces twice over, driving up costs and labour.
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