Mangaluru: At first glance, it may seem like just another shade of red. But in a small workshop in Pandeshwar, 48-year-old artisan Kishore Pai patiently applies what he describes as a distinctly different colour: sindhoor.The orange-red hue is currently taking shape on a hand-sculpted Ganesha idol commissioned by a family from Kanhangad in Kerala. The idol is set to be delivered Saturday, ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi.For the past 26 years, Kishore has been making Ganesha idols. About 15 years ago, he began specialising in sindhoor-coloured idols, a traditional shade that gradually became his signature style. Today, many customers seek him out specifically for it.“Many people initially ask for a red Ganesha. But after seeing the sindhoor shade, they return the following year asking for the same colour. Some customers also specifically request smaller idols in sindhoor,” he said.According to Kishore, while conventional red paint is commonly used on Ganesha idols, sindhoor carries a more distinctive orange-red appearance. The colour enjoys particular popularity in Mumbai, where he also works. He sources the sindhoor-coloured paint from Mumbai, while the clay comes from Kundapur.Yet the colour is only one part of the story. Amid the rush of the festival season, Kishore continues to work without moulds. Each idol is sculpted entirely by hand, from the curve of the trunk to the details of the face and eyes. His assistants help with the preliminary painting, but the defining features remain his responsibility.The Ganesha now emerging in sindhoor is also part of a much longer relationship between the artisan and the families he serves. Kishore said he has been making idols for some families for nearly 15 years. Many arrive carrying the pedestal from the previous year’s idol, and he crafts the new one to fit it.“For some families, the colour is only one part of an annual visual continuity. The pedestal, proportions, facial features and ornamentation are retained or recreated in keeping with their longstanding tradition,” he said.What began as a specialised preference has gradually found a wider audience. Kishore said demand for sindhoor-coloured idols is spreading, though such idols are generally made only when customers specifically request them. Over the years, his creations have travelled to homes across Karnataka, Kerala and Goa, as well as to Mumbai, Dubai and Canada.Though event management is his full-time profession, idol-making remains a longstanding passion. Having worked with clay since childhood, he has also won several awards in clay-modelling competitions.For Kishore, each Ganesha is not cast from a mould but shaped by hand, coloured in a shade he has become known for, and made for families that return year after year.
