Pray to a foot-in-mouth Ganesha

By: Shrikant Khupekar, Mumbai

Eco-conscious Dombivli sculptor will depict Ganesha in 21 states for a local mandal

Mumbai: In the run up to Ganesh Chaturthi on September 1 this year, Vakratunda Mitra Mandal at Sangita wadi in Dombivli East approached sculptor Gunesh Gajanan Adval, and they had a unique request. To commemorate their 21st year in existence, the Sarvajanik Ganeshoustav Mandal wanted 21 idols made.

In just as unique fashion, Adval and his sister Shubhangi Ullengal have decided to make 21 idols that are unique and different from each other, as well as exclusive to their business. This, after the siblings along with Adval’s wife Bhargavi, mould and cast sculptures not with the help of pictures, but with their imagination.

Ullengal recalls, “When we were kids, our father, a sculptor, would tell us stories of the different forms of Ganpati. So, we have decided to make this our theme and create 21 idols based on those stories.”

Adval has already completed four of the 21 idols. What’s planned for the rest includes, Ganpati resting on a flower, sitting beside a mouse, sitting on the moon, dancing, writing the Mahabharata, battling demons with a mace, fighting with demons with a trishul, seated in a pious position, doing yoga, seated on a swing, riding a mouse, and with a lion, among others. Adval said, “Ten idols will depict Ganesha in his childhood, while another 11 will show him as an adult.”

Thirty five year-old Adval, who moved to Mumbai from Kohlapur in 2008, is environment conscious too. “I make idols only out of mud. Plaster of Paris does not dissolve in water, and is a problem, so I avoid it.” 

He is the designer of a statue of Mother India that stands at the entrance of Vidya Niketan School in Dombivli, and plans to work on sculptures that depict social issues like public cleanliness, literacy and education.