Festival: EXQUISITE GANESHA IDOLS for CHATURTHI 2014

Durva Creations, Sion East

I usually take a walk from my house to Gokul Mandir in Sion East. I walk through the back roads and return from the main road. 

Baby Krishna-Lord Ganesh. Mwah!

On Saturday, I surprised upon a huge pandal at Jagger Niwas. Thinking that it’s too early for Ganesh Chaturthi, I peeped in to see hundreds of colourful and decorative Ganesh Idols sitting on the shelves and some on the floor, awaiting buyers.

Lord Ganpati

As I went in to check them out, I was met by Mrs. Jagger with a smiling face. She wanted to know what kind of idol I preferred. I explained to her that I am a blogger and would like to know about the kind of Ganesh Murtis they had to offer. 

On a Swan

After taking a round of the pandal, I promised to go back the next day armed with my camera and notebook. 

Maharaja

I went back on Sunday afternoon to meet Mrs. Jagger. She let me take pictures to my heart’s content while the assistant helpfully removed tags and dust-covers to give me access to some of the most beautiful idols that I have seen on my many such ventures. 

One more Maharaja

Click Here to read about how the Idols are made in the villages of Maharashtra and brought to Mumbai. 

Beautiful!

Both Navin and Diya Jagger have been celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi with a specially purchased idol every year over the past 25 years. In fact, 2014 is their silver jubilee year. 

In the lines of Lord Krishna

Navin Jagger takes great interest in visiting a number of vendors each year to choose the perfect idol for their home. His final order generally was a combination of one particular face, another posture and different colours - put together as per his taste and made to order. Incidentally, Mr. Jagger says he never bargains with the vendors as he feels that art is priceless. 

Look at the velvety texture of the dhoti. Isn't it amazing!

This eye for detailing and colours gave forth to an urge to do something different this year and Durva Creations was born. Mr. & Mrs. Jagger hold 9-5 routine jobs that are quite ordinary. They so wanted to bring some art and colour into their lives. That’s how they hit upon the idea of going into business of getting together some exclusive Ganesha Idols for this year’s Chaturthi. 

This gorgeous Ganesha is sold with stone embellishments complete

Navin Jagger has been visiting a cluster of villages around Pen in Maharashtra since four months. He’s been checking out many idol-makers and bringing together ideas for the kind of idols he wished to sell at his stall. Some of his friends who have been a moral support are Kishore Wadhwa, Rohan Advani, Divyesh Shah, Harpreet Sandher, Karamjeet Sandher and Jaymev Obhan. 

Royal Lord Ganesh

While idol-makers were taken from one village, painters of the idols were chosen from elsewhere, ensuring that the idols at Durva Creations are exclusive enough. 

Doesn't He look cute! Hugs!

Different faces, various poses and vaahans were put together with brilliant colour combinations to suit his exclusive taste as 300 plus idols found their way to Durva Creations at Jagger Niwas. 

This flaming red Ganesh Idol caught my eye for sure

A visitor will find a maximum of three idols that look the same; even those have been made different with separate colour combinations. 

Ganpati Bappa Morya!

All the idols have been prepared and painted in the village and brought here with extreme care, ensuring that there is no damage. 

The King is waiting to find a home

The sizes of the Ganesh Idols measure thus: 12”, 15”, 18”, 22”, 24”, 30”, 3’, 4’ and 5’. While I got to see all sizes, the 5-foot ones were yet to arrive. Costs range from Rs. 1500-8500. Prices are negotiable. 

Look at that decorative trunk. Awesome!

What’s special about the Ganesh Idols sold at Durva Creations?

They have a provision for embellishing the idols with coloured stones. Believe me, the result is extremely beautiful. It must take a lot of time and patience to do this artwork and this responsibility has been given to artist Siddhant Pitale who is adept at multi-tasking, it seems. Mr. Pitale is still studying while holding a day job. He still finds time to spare for this creative work from 8 pm to 1 am when he’s available at Jagger Niwas. Anyone who’s buying Ganesh Idols from here can meet the artist personally after 8 pm and discuss exactly what they want done on their idol. The cost for embellishing your Ganesha will be separate depending on the number of stones used and the level of ornamentation required. The artist takes 1-2 days to complete work on each idol. The sooner you place the order, the faster you are ensured of a well-decorated Ganesha for the festival. 

Completely ready with stone work in red, blue, green and white

What impressed me about the Ganesh Idols I found at Durva Creations:

• I have never seen such beautiful clay idols of Lord Ganesh ever before on the many visits I have made to sale outlets as well as Ganesh pandals during the festival.
• The faces of Ganpatis look absolutely divine, making one want to pray when in front of them.
• The eyes of the idols are very expressive.
• The velvety texture to the dhotis worn by the idols, painted in shades of colours, looks very attractive.
• The variety is amazing.

All of 4 feet, squatting on a conch shell. Don't miss the li'l dolphin

Click Here to LIKE Durva Creations on facebook

Any takers?

Durva Creations,

214, Jagger Niwas, 

Opp. Sion Hospital,

Sion East, 

Mumbai – 400022

+91 98202 49404

I sincerely pray to the Elephant-headed Lord that Durva Creations does great business this Ganesh Chaturthi. All the best to Mr. & Mrs. Jagger on their divine and colourful venture! 

The Lord awaiting the Bhakta

Festival: MERRY CHRISTMAS 2013!

Mother Mary & Baby Jesus on Christmas Day 2013!

Merry Christmas!

Up the hill

I was quite thrilled when Vinny suggested that we go to visit Mount Mary on Christmas this year. While I have been to that area a number of times and even went to the church once, it has always been in the night. So, I was quite happy to go there in the daylight.

Candles sold outside the church

We got off the rickshaw opposite Mehboob Studio and walked up the sloping road. The weather was awesome and the walk quite scenic. We went down a couple of by-lanes, taking our time reaching the church at around 1.30 pm.

Vinny checks out the wares on sale

The church was packed with a number of people spilling into the compound too. Most of them were obviously not Christians, same as us. We both walked inside to sit on a pew. After praying for a few minutes, I got up to walk to the altar. Mother Mary and Baby Jesus wore diamond crowns to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. They looked beautiful.

Mount Mary Church in the afternoon sunlight

After praying there, I walked out from the right side where a crib had been set up. It looked lovely. I waited on another pew while Vinny completed her prayers and then the two of us left from the opposite door.

The crib

We walked down the hill from the other end and went to Taj Lands End where Christmas Carols had been organised in the main hall. Children from a nearby school were celebrating the birth of Jesus by singing carols.

The scenic walk downhill

We sat there to listen to “Jingle Bells” (my favourite) and “Silent Night”. It was lovely to hear their young, sweet voices. We left after having a glass of fruit juice served by the hotel.

Christmas Carols at Taj Lands End

It was a wonderful Christmas for me as we went on to buy a takeaway lunch at BusaGo in Bandra before going home to share it with Venkat and Viggy.

Cute stuffed Santa Claus at the Festivity Desk at Taj Lands End

One of the 4 pretty Christmas trees in the lobby of Taj Lands End!

Recipe: SAKKARAI PONGAL (சக்கரை பொங்கல்)

Wish all my readers a VERY HAPPY PONGAL!

Sakkarai Pongal or Sweet Pongal is the main prasadham that is made on Makar Sankranti, the harvest festival that is celebrated to thank the Sun God for the bounty one has received in the form of food grains.

Incidentally, while Sakkarai means sugar in Tamil, the word is used her to describe the sweetness of the dish. It is actually Jaggery that is used and not sugar.

I bring to you this recipe that is a favourite with all my family members. I make this in my own style after learning from both my mother and mother-in-law.

Ingredients:

அரிசி - Rice - 1 cup
பயத்தம் பருப்பு - Moong Dal - 1 cup
வெல்லம் - Jaggery - 2 1/2 cups
ஏலக்காய் பொடி - Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp
நெய் - Ghee - 1/2 cup
பால் - Milk - 1/2 cup
முந்திரி பருப்பு - Cashewnuts - 10 (cut into pieces)
கிஸ்மிஸ் - Raisins - 20

Method:

1. Pressure cook the rice and dal till the cooker gives off three whistles.
2. Melt the jaggery in half a cup of water and filter it and keep aside.
3. Take a saucepan and heat a spoon of ghee in it. Add the cashewnuts and shallow fry till golden brown. Add the kismis at this point, turn a couple of times and keep the mixture aside.
4. Heat the rest of the ghee in the saucepan and add the melted jaggery to it and allow it to come to a boil. Reduce the gas flame.
5. Gently mix the rice and dal before adding them to the boiling ghee-jaggery mixture on the gas.
6. While the above mixture is cooking, add the milk to it. Ensure that the milk is pre-boiled so that it does not get spoilt when coming in touch with the jaggery. (That can happen at times).
7. Cook well, stirring on and off till the mixture gets to the consistency of halwa.
8. Switch off the gas, add the cardamom powder and remove it to a serving vessel.
9. Garnish with the roasted cashewnuts and raisins.

Enjoy the yummy Sakkarai Pongal after offering prasadham to Sun God.

Wish you all a HAPPY PONGAL once again!

Festival: BRING LORD GANESHA HOME!

Lord Ganesha!

GANPATI BAPPA MORYA!

Happy Birthday to you Ganpati Bappa! I simply love you! Wishing every one of my readers a very happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

Ganesha Idols made from clay at a village (Pic courtesy: Nilesh Mhatre)

Ganesha is the elephant-headed God who is so loveable and cuddly that all of us want to befriend. This festival is celebrated with pomp and ceremony by all of us, Mumbaikars, most especially. On this beautiful occasion, I bring to you a blog on how the Ganesh idols are made and brought to the markets in Mumbai city. I have taken the information and pictures from a barracks-like stall at Dharavi for the same.

Work on Ganesha idols heats up in the village (Pic courtesy: Nilesh Mhatre)

As you walk from Sion station to Dharavi, you will find this stall on the right across the 90-feet Road that is on the left. The shop has no name or anything for specific identification. The primary thing is that you find a number of Ganesh murtis in various shapes and sizes in different stages of creation.

I was lucky to get these close-up shots

I met Raj from Ahmadnagar, a painter. I am not sure whether Raj should be called an artist or a painter. He does have the skill to turn out handsome hand-painted idols, but I mainly saw him wielding a spray gun while painting them. Luckily for me, Raj was quite willing to give me a lot of details of how the show goes on there. Raj asked me for a favour - their official photographer had not turned up, yet. He asked me whether I could give him copies of the photos on a CD. I was thrilled as he was ready to remove dust-covers from completed idols to make it possible for me to click away. Lucky me! You will find more pics on Rising Sun over the next 10 days.

That's Raj working on a Ganesh Murti

About 25 painters come down in a group from Ahmadnagar every year, about 2-3 months before Ganesh Chaturthi, to work with the same manufacturer, year after year. This is just one group. There are hundreds such coming down to Mumbai. This particular group works at the stalls in Dharavi, Andheri, Jogeshwari, Borivali and Kandivli.

A worker putting finishing touches to a clay idol (Pic courtesy: Nilesh Mhatre)

The idols all come ready made from many parts of Maharashtra – Pen, Ahmadnagar, Ambeghar, Shirki and some others. Some are made from readymade moulds while others are created by hand. Sometimes, the murtis are created with a mould and embellishments are later added by hand. Murtis are made of clay as well as plaster of paris. The ones in this particular stall were all made of the latter. Most of the small ones – one foot and less – are painted at the villages. The larger ones are brought in the raw state to be painted right here in the stalls to avoid damage.

POP Ganeshas waiting to be coloured at Dharavi

An idol partly painted

The shop that is set up here includes 10 barracks, each measuring 30’x10’. They pay a rent of Rs. 35,000 per barrack per month. That’s big money indeed! This is just the set up at Dharavi under one particular manufacturer. While the shop comes into existence 2 months before Ganesh Chaturthi, it continues to hold good for the upcoming Navaratri festival when there is demand for idols of Devi.

The gorgeous hand-painted Ganesh with tones of Lord Krishna

Raj takes about a couple of hours to paint a murti that is 4’ in height. This is just for spray painting. If there is a lot of hand painting involved, he takes another hour more. Spray painting is used most of the time as this works out cheaper. Hand-painting is done only on specific orders as these come very expensive.

The idols, especially the bigger ones, are booked by customers before they are painted. In fact, the buyers can choose the colours they want their Lord painted in.

Sold!

A 4-foot murti made of POP costs between Rs. 300-400 when it is brought down in the raw state. Raj is paid Rs. 2000-3000 for the painting job. The cost of raw-materials is separate. The completed version of a hand-painted 4-foot idol is sold for about Rs. 35,000. Raj makes about Rs. 80000-90000 per Ganpati season. What he makes during Navratri is separate. The smallest and cheapest murti at the stall costs Rs. 200. The biggest murtis that come to their stall are as much as 12’ in height when I went to check the idols out. Raj said that bigger ones may turn up if there was demand.

Awaiting sale!

You might have noticed by now that all costs are given in a range. Well, that’s how it is, as costing is pretty flexible if you know how to deal with it.

I found this idol of Lord Krishna there. For Janmashtami, I presume

The costing ebbs and flows as per demand and the time when the customer lands up at the stall. Bargaining is possible as they are keen to sell away all their goods. But if the demand is more, then you might have to go away disappointed if you leave the purchase till the last minute.

I am sure all of these must be taken by now

The last I read up on the internet, a large number of idols were destroyed during the recent rains, creating a huge loss to the industry as a whole. I sincerely pray to Lord Vignaharta (the one who destroys our problems) to take care of everyone involved.

Festival: HAPPY DEEPAVALI 2010

Wish everyone of my readers a very Happy Deepavali 2010!

These are diyas that I lighted at the entrance of our flat. I wish each and everyone a very Happy & Prosperous Diwali and a Happy New Year too!

We decided to 'go green' this Deepavali and did not purchase any fire-crackers. Looks like the sentiment has been shared by many as the noise level is quite low this year. 

Diwali lunch

This is the lunch I made at home for today. I veered away from tradition to make a North Indian lunch and my family members were quite thrilled about this. You will get to read the recipes for the items made. The Paal payasam (kheer), Stuffed Capsicum, Mattar Paneer, Puris, Pulao and Raita were indeed yummy, even though I am saying so myself. ;)

JOURNEY OF THE GARBA – Part II

….to continue from Part I

Kathiawadi Chowk

The Kathiawadi Chowk Navratra fair is held on the first day of Navratri every year. This year, Tina and her family were up from 3 am on Friday morning, packing away the Garbas into a tempo to be taken to the fair. The auspicious time to leave home was 5 am and they left right then to reach the market at Malad East.

Neha, Payal & Tina at the Navratra Fair

Their wares were set up on the roadside in a colourful display along with many others. 9 o’clock was when the customers turned up in droves to inspect and buy the Garbas. I reached the venue at about 11 am and was thrilled to see the colour all around me.

Other vendors

Pink, yellow, red Garbas - your choice

More Garbas

Tina and her gang were busy selling their wares throughout the day to eager customers.

Tina selling her best Garba

It's going, going, gone!

One would be surprised to see the area that could pass off for a village but for the busy highway and some tall buildings. It was a combo of urban and rural in typical Mumbai-ishtyle.

Malad East - Village or City?

Well, those were scenes from the cute little village fair at Kathiawadi Chowk. I am glad to mention that while Tina and her family worked hard till 10 pm, they did manage to sell around 330 Garbas that day and she was left with a margin of about 10% unsold during this season.

Right now, Tina does not have any time to stand and stare. She is busy getting the Diyas ready for Diwali! Long live Tina and her family!