With Ganesh Chathurti approaching, artisans all
over the country are busy creating idols of the popular God of prosperity. In the city, |
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numerous forms of
Ganesha are in various stages of completion. There are the famed Kumartouli potters from
Bengal giving shape to idols for the Bengalee Association while the artists from the
Mumbai school have also set up shop here with their expertise on larger than life Ganeshas
that will finally be laid to rest in the lakes and tanks of Bangalore. The familiar chants
of ‘Ganapathi Bappa Moriya’ will rent the air, as the city’s residents seek
the favour of Ganesha for another year of peace and prosperity.
Today, Ganesha has emerged as the most popular deity in the Hindu pantheon, and idols of
Him are bought not just for puja purposes, but also as showpieces or gifts.
For the serious ‘Ganesha Collector’, the casual shopper or even the curious
browser in Bangalore, there is only person to go to ... Sultan Thariani.
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At any time, Sultan is surrounded by more than 3000
different varieties of Ganesha in his shop called "Chandni" located on the 1st
floor of the Public Utility Building on M.G.Road. Online Bangalore takes a closer look at
the man and his fascinating collection.
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Sultan’s tryst with Ganesha goes back many years during
his stay in Mumbai. Every Tuesday he was a regular at the famous Siddhi Vinayaka Temple.
But little did Sultan know that Ganesha would eventually become a means of livihood. He
left Mumbai in 1991 and came over to Bangalore to start afresh. He took over the present
shop, which was selling inferior quality handicrafts from an acquaintance of his. New to
the business, Sultan soon realized that his acquaintance had literally ‘dumped’
the business on him with a dead stock worth over 3 lakhs. It took him 3 years to finally
sell off all his stock. Meanwhile, one day Dwarakanath, a metal craftsman of the
traditional school, approached him. He handed over a Ganesha idol, which had a unique
design. The very next day, the idol was sold.
Then it suddenly dawned on Sultan that this was going to be the specific area he needed to
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on. He had finally discovered his motive as well as his
Unique Selling Point. Since that day, there was no looking back. Dwarakanath would bring
in the finely sculpted Ganeshas and Sultan would sell them in no time. Though he was
selling the idols like hotcakes, Sultan realized that he needed to bring in newer designs
every time, instead of selling the same designs over again. So he would painstakingly
prepare the initial art work for the Ganesha idols and then hand them over to Dwarakanath,
who would then sculpt them to perfection. Sultan’s eye for aesthetics, (though he has
no formal education in painting or art) combined with the fact that Ganesha is the one
deity who can be given any design and still the people would flock to purchase them. So
there was nothing to restrict Sultan from giving Ganeshas new form.
Today, his shop stocks Ganeshas made from all kinds of mediums. Bronze, brass, copper,
silver, alloys, terracotta, papier-mache, fish bone, semi precious stones and even
synthetic materials. Not restricting himself to sculptures only, Sultan also has a
fantastic collection of Ganesha paintings. Even the mediums used for painting are varied.
They are available on canvas - both oil and watercolour compositions, on marble silk and
even using crushed |
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gemstones. Another special medium is the pink Meenakari work
done on silver from Varanasi. His Ganesha collection comes from practically every region
of India as well as Nepal and Indonesia. When we asked him what is the latest design of
Ganesha, Sultan proudly displays us a framed ‘painting’ of Ganesh. "This is
the Drishti Ganesha", he says. And this particular piece is called a
"Navarathna" painting, because instead of paints, crushed semi-precious stones
of the 9 colours of the Navarathna are used. This specific design of the Drishti Ganesha
originated in Tamil Nadu and is very popular there’, says Sultan. "This Ganesha
when placed in your home or office is guaranteed to ward off evil. Note that the eyes are
widened in anger. Shiva is represented here in the form of the ‘third eye", his
ornaments and weaponry resemble those of Vishnu, whereas the goddess Durga is depicted as
a lion that stands behind Ganesha. His crown is surrounded by an outer circle of 51 eyes
and an inner circle of 9 snakes". The Drishti Ganesha is also available as a carving
in white cedar wood.
Sultan’s passion and artistry is best reflected in his collection of "Hoysala
Bronzes", so called, because they are created using the technique of the Hoysala
School. The attention to detail is the highlight of these bronzes. "Unlike the Chola
bronzes (from Kumbakonam and Swamimalai in Tamil Nadu) which do not have much detail, |
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the Hoysala idols are intricately created. And whereas the Chola variety are made
by the ‘lost wax process’, ours are made using metal dyes and high copper
content, which gives the idols the fine glaze and finish.
Moreover, the metal dyes can be used to make a number of idols of the same design, while
the Chola method can produce only one idol. No two idols will be the same. Every
conceivable position of Ganesha is available in the Hoysala range of Sultan’s
bronzes. The infant Ganesha, standing, lying down, playing musical instruments, etc.
Another hot favourite bronze idol that is a craze with his customers is a unique piece,
which Sultan has named "Millennium Ganesha". Millennium, because Ganesha is
surrounded by 21 lamps signifying the 21st century.
Almost always, Ganesha’s trunk is always turned to His left side. But there are rare
instances where Ganesha is found with his trunk facing his right, like the famous black
idol of Ganesha in Pillayar Patti in Tamil Nadu, where even his hands resemble the
elephant. "Why the ‘Valampuri Ganesha’ or right trunked is not very popular
is because, if you have one of them at home, one will have to regularly conduct pujas for
it. Unlike the common left facing trunk which can be used casually as a showpiece",
says Sultan. Of course, he has a range of right facing ones too.
Sultan has not only mastered the art of making Ganeshas, but selling them too. He
painstakingly explains to his customers every small detail and nuance and breaks ice with
new customers easily. His growing and satisfied list of customers, are always coming back
to him for more. Though his location is not easily aware to Bangalore’s floating
population of tourists, it is the city’s residents that are his main customers. For
those who can’t drop into his shop to check out his astounding collection, Sultan has
also put his entire goods on his website www.indiahandicraft.net. The faith that his
customers have in him is best reflected in the words of one of his best customers, who On
his deathbed is said to have told his son to "continue to buy at least one idol every
month from Sultan’s Ganesha collection. "There can be no bigger compliment for
me", says Sultan as he fondly recollects the event. We agree.
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| By Monu Surendran |
Gallery of Hoysala Bronze ganesha....... |
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