Suma M Rao and her daughter Ankitha M Rao, adorning the Ganesha idol with silk cloth at Mannagudda in Mangaluru.
Around 20 public celebrations are regular customers, besides the many idols made for homes, Ramachandra said. The family receives orders from several public Ganesh celebrations, including those at Sanghaniketan, Kulshekar, Karangalpady, Police Lines, New Mangalore Port Authority and KIOCL.
The family of late Mohan Rao of Mannagudda has been making idols for the past 97 years. Ramachandra Rao, 77, the youngest son of Mohan Rao, said the family had made 256 idols this year. His father began the tradition by making around 25 to 30 small idols. Ramachandra Rao said his daughter, a doctor based in London, takes 15 days’ leave every year to return to Mangaluru and help with the idol-making work. Around 20 to 25 members of the extended family participate in the work every year.
Over the years, production increased to nearly 260 idols, but the family has limited the number due to time and space constraints. Mangaluru : Every year, as Ganesh Chaturthi approaches, members of a Mangaluru family return home from across the world, ‘not only to celebrate the festival, but also to keep alive a nearly century-old tradition of making Ganesha idols. For the family, however, idol-making is about more than fulfilling orders. It is an annual reunion that brings together members of different generations.
Today, his family members living in London, the United States, Dubai, Bengaluru and other parts of the world come together during the festival season to make and paint the idols, ensuring that the craft is passed on to the next generation.