Thiruvananthapuram: Opposite the Government Secretariat, behind bustling commercial establishments, a small army stands awaiting ‘marching orders.’ The orders will come only in mid-August, when the annual Ganeshotsav gets into full swing, but preparations are on in a makeshift pavilion. It will be from here that 1,255 Ganesh idols of varying sizes would be taken for the festival processions in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts.
Majority of the idols are made of plaster of Paris, but a few, the bigger ones, are made of paper. In the days ahead, they will come alive as bright colours are added. To one side, sculptor Mottamoodu Vijayan, a familiar face at this job, painstakingly crafts a huge idol made exclusively from newspapers and gum.
‘’The bigger idols are made of newspapers every year; otherwise, they will be too heavy to be lifted,’’ says Ramasubramaniam, state medical organiser of the Shiv Sena, the organisers of the festival. ‘’The biggest is about 12 feet tall. Placed on a lorry, it will stand about 15-20 feet high. It will be placed at East Fort,’’ he said.
Most of the sculptures are smaller, and made of plaster of Paris. This year’s Ganesha Festival will begin on August 16, and conclude with a colourful procession bearing the idols on August 25.
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