Ganapati idol made of local clay in Alave village of Kolhapur district
For more than a century, the village’s 300 households and 13 Ganesh mandals have installed only clay idols. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kolhapur | Silver Rate in Kolhapur | Bank Holidays in Kolhapur | Public Holidays in Kolhapur Stay updated with the latest Kolhapur news.
“The elders told us that our village deity, Bhairavnath, would be displeased if a coloured idol was brought here,” said Sachin Parit of Hindavi Tarun Mandal. “I was born in 1982 and heard the same thing from my grandfather,” said resident Sagar Gaikwad. “The soil has a natural stickiness that keeps the idol intact through the festival,” Kumbhar said. It always has been, and it always will be,” he said.
Ganapati idol made of local clay in Alave village of Kolhapur district Ganapati idol made of local clay in Alave village of Kolhapur district Ganapati idol made of local clay in Alave village of Kolhapur district Ganapati idol made of local clay in Alave village of Kolhapur district Ganapati idol made of local clay in Alave village of Kolhapur district Ganapati idol made of local clay in Alave village of Kolhapur district Kolhapur: As giant Ganesh idols tower over city streets and DJs compete with chants of Ganapati Bappa Morya, a small village on the banks of the Kasari river, barely 25km from Kolhapur city, keeps faith with a quieter tradition. In Alave, every Ganesh idol comes from the earth. And every idol returns to it. No plaster of paris (PoP). No fibre. No chemical colours. No exceptions. The practice has survived changing times, changing markets and changing tastes. In a state where the debate over water pollution from PoP idols resurfaces every Ganeshotsav, Alave’s residents have never needed a campaign to go green. “But beyond the belief, the idea is simple. We celebrate with nature and return everything to nature,” he added. The custom is so deeply rooted that many villagers cannot remember when it began. “For generations, our families have used only local clay. We have never felt the need to change. Sagar Kumbhar hails from a family that, for generations, has shaped Bappa from the clay of the Kasari’s banks, turning handfuls of earth into idols that grace Alave’s homes and mandals each year. “For two or three weeks, the moisture holds it together. But the moment it is immersed, it melts back into the water. As more devotees embrace eco-friendly celebrations, orders now arrive from neighbouring villages too. Yet for the Kumbhar family, Alave comes first. “People from outside increasingly want these clay idols. But our first responsibility is to the families and mandals of Alave. Even Gauri Agaman, a cherished part of the festival, carries a distinctly local flavour. Instead of fibre or PoP masks of Shankar and Gauri, villagers use alavache paan or colocasia leaves to fashion symbolic forms. When Bappa arrives, traditional dhol-tasha rhythms fill the air. High-decibel sound systems are largely absent. The festival remains communal without becoming noisy. The idols are similarly immersed in Kasari during visarjan. Some families still compensate idol makers with grain, continuing a barter practice that predates modern commerce. the relationship between potter and devotee remains largely unchanged While many mandals now pay in cash. The village’s commitment has gained renewed relevance as concerns over river pollution grow across Maharashtra. Yet residents insist they are not trying to set an example. They are simply doing what their grandparents and great-grandparents did. In Alave, Bappa arrives from the earth, is worshipped with devotion, and finally returns to the earth he came from. That cycle, the villagers say, is the tradition worth preserving. Download the TOI App.
On Monday, as hundreds of clay idols found their place in homes and mandals across Alave, the village once again demonstrated that tradition and environmental consciousness do not have to compete.
The clay for the idols is collected from fields and banks of the Kasari river in the village. Kumbhars (potters) gather it during summer, store it in sacks and begin preparing it weeks before Ganeshotsav. There are no moulds. Each idol, whether for a home altar or a public mandal, is shaped entirely by hand. The process is slow. Deliberate. Traditional.