Lalbaug sculptor pulls off 28 foot-tall Bal Ganesh idol, which rests on three toes, in five days
Lalbaug sculptor pulls off 28 foot-tall Bal Ganesh idol, which rests on three toes, in five days
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The sight of Bal Ganesh standing on an elephant's trunk on three toes may be a treat for the worshipper's eyes but it's a difficult idol for a sculptor to make. However, 32 year-old Lalbaug sculptor Rajesh Shinde has pulled off this 28 foot tall work of art with ease. 
Rajesh Shinde, sculptor of the 28 foot-tall Ganesh idol at Sarvajanik
Ganeshotsav Mandal in Khetwadi's 8th Lane. PIC/SATYAJIT DESAI
The 48 year old Khetwadi 8th Lane Sarvajanik Ganehotsav Mandal came up with the idea of the unique idol and approached Shinde to execute it. The 28 foot idol is the tallest in the Khetwadi mandal's history and in sculptor's 12 year-old career.
The Bal Ganesh idol, which stands on three toes, weighs about two tonne and was sculpted and painted to perfection in just three days. "I got the order (from Khetwadi mandal) a month ago and I wasn't sure if I would be able to deliver in just five days. I still took it up as a challenge and by God's grace I managed pretty well," Shinde said.
"I started working on the idol on August 25 and I am almost done with it. I just need to finish painting the idol and I intend to do that by Sunday," he added.u00a0
The Vice-Secretary of the Khetwadi 8th Lane mandal, Nilesh Shirdhankar, said, "The sculptor has made the idol in just three days and he has promised to give it the final touches by Sunday. The making of the idol had to be delayed because it had to be made in the pandal that was built only 10 days ago."
Another mandal member, Abhay Parkar, said, "This is not the first time he made an idol at such short notice. He has been doing this for eight years now. Since our lane is very narrow, we get permission to set up the pandal only 10 days before Ganeshotsav. Of the 10 days, two days go in setting up the pandal, about four to five days go in making the idol and the remaining days we use to decorate it."
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