A tiny village winning the battle against Plaster of Paris idols

The brains behind the project is carpenter Vinayak Badiger, who seems determined to help discourage the use of the non eco-friendly idols made of PoP.
A tiny village winning the battle against Plaster of Paris idols

KOPPAL: Betageri is a tiny village in Koppal district with a population of just 8,000 villagers. Located 20-kilometres away from Koppal, the village is however very popular in the area for its Ganesha idols, fashioned out of red clay, which have been competing with massive plaster-of-paris Ganesha idols for around a decade now.

The brains behind the project is carpenter Vinayak Badiger, who seems determined to help discourage the use of the non eco-friendly idols made of PoP. Despite official measures to curb their usage, Koppal continues to see the usage of PoP Ganesha idols everywhere.But enter Betageri and you can immediately know this village is different. In fact, over the years, Badiger has managed to find patrons for his environment-friendly Ganesha idols in the surrounding villages of Kataraki, Muttoor, Tigari, Neeralagi, Alwandi, Moranal, Hanakunti and others as well.

Speaking to The New Sunday Express, Badiger says that his ancestors were primarily farmers. “I learnt the art of making Ganesha idols from my father Ningappa Badiger,” he reveals. “The demand for these idols has been growing. Now orders are booked more than a fortnight before the festival,” the sculptor reveals.
Vinayak’s father Ningappa had around six acres of agricultural land, shared between three sons. With just around two acres to his name, Vinayak realised that it would be very hard to eke out a living. His father then inspired him to turn to idol making.

“On an average, around 50 idols are sold at an affordable price ranging between Rs. 250 and Rs. 1,000. A bigger idol is offered to the village ‘bhajana mandali’ at a price decided by the mandali themselves,”
he says.

While his father might have been the inspiration, there were many other elders who taught him the finer nuances of fashioning Ganesha idols out of clay over the years. “It has been a traditional art for his family.
The idols are eco-friendly, and affordable. We have been buying our idols from him for the past 8-10 years,” Shambhulinagyya, a customer from Moranal village.

“In fact, people from several other surrounding villages are coming forward to buy eco-friendly Ganesha idols from Vinayak Badiger as prices are affordable because Badiger does not face much competition in rural areas,” opined Jagadish Guladalli, a resident of Betageri and a customer.

Another Betageri resident, Kotesh Komalapur said that officials could look at encouraging people like Badiger to make more eco-friendly idols then trying to prevent the usage of PoP. “It would be much more effective,” he said.

A DEDICATED CLIENTELE KEEPS VINAYAK BUSY

Initially fighting alone against the menace of plaster of paris idols, Badiger managed to convince people in his village to try the eco-friendly option. Once more people started noticing, news spread and today, Badiget caters to several patron from neighbouring villages like Kataraki, Muttoor, Tigari, Neeralagi, Alwandi, Moranal, Hanakunti and others as well. Along the way, Badiger says, there were also many people who helped him learn and perfect the art of making the Ganesha idols. While business might be good, Badiger is particular about.

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The New Indian Express
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