At Kosapet, the macadamised roads turn white during the month of August and September and have to wait for the seasonal showers to return to their original colour.  Kosapet is a tiny hub in North Chennai, which sees a frenzy of activities during the months of August and September in a build up to the festival of Vinayaka Chaturthi or Ganesh Chaturthi as it is otherwise known.

The 200 or so families residing in Kosapet, who have been eking out a living for many years by making clay idols, go into an overdrive during these two months making huge Ganesha idols from Plaster of Paris.  Though Ganesha idols are made in other parts of the city, Kosapet is by far the biggest place to get Ganesha idols, both in terms of the number of idols and their size.  People from as far away as Tambaram, Kacheepuram, Arakkonam, Chengleput and Maduranthakam come here and place orders for Ganeshas.  In the city, a majority of the idols are bought by an organisation called the 'Hindu Munnani', which places these idols at various street corners for about a month, at the end of which the idols are immersed into the sea.

During those forty days or so (prior to the Vinayaka Chaturthi festivities), starting from the middle of June and going up to the end of August, work begins on a feverish pace.  Ganeshas from 5 feet to 20 feet and more are made and every year sees new forms of Ganeshas.  If the 'Computer Ganesha' was a hit last year, this year it seems to be the 'Dragon Ganesha' which has Ganesha sitting on the shoulder of a dragon. This year the business seems to have grown, as the Ganesha making activity has spread to the Purasawakkam area. 

The raw materials that are use for these idols are Plaster of Paris, coconut fibre, casuarina sticks, synthetic enamel and ordinary paints.  The form of the idol is first made using clay.  Then the Plaster of Paris dye is made.  This is the most difficult part and is made using plaster of paris, coconut oil and a few other materials.  It takes anywhere between one day for a 5 feet Ganesha to 10 days or even more for a 15 feet Ganesha.  But it is not that the craftmen work on just one statue till it is finished.  Over a period of two months, hundreds of statues are made in batches.  Once the statues are in their inal shape, they are given a coat of whitewash and left till the second or third week of August.  This is when the actual painting of the statues start and it is only a few days before the festival that a majority of the statues are fully painted.  It is quite difficult to place a finger on the number of statues that are made, as the whole thing is pretty unorganised.  But the number would easily cross a few thousands.

Balu, a worker who has been making Ganeshas for the past nine years says, "Every year we make new shapes.  And I have been working under the same 'owner' for daily wages during these two months for the past nine years.  I take leave from my regular work in a courier office.  We work all day starting from 6 'o' clock in the morning to 1 'o' clock in the night and it's back to work again".

Says one 'owner', who did not wish to reveal his name and who has over 50 men like Balu under him, "There is actually not much of profit in this after one takes away the operating costs.  But every year it is more like a service from us.  This gives employment to several hundred men and we see this as a service to the people.  We earn more money doing sets for exhibitions and films".

The prices of these idols have gone up this year.  A five feet Ganesha is around Rs1,500/-, while it was just Rs1,000/- last year.  The increase in price for bigger idols is not very clear, as the 'owners' were not willing to reveal the price.  But the workers say that 15 and 20 feet Ganeshas which used to cost between Rs 20,000/- and Rs 30,000/- would now cost anywhere between Rs 25,000/- to Rs 40,000/-.

An interesting thing however is that, making these idols of Ganesha from plaster of Paris is only a recent phenomenon.  According to a resident of Kosapet, it started just 15 years ago.  Kosapet back then was known more for its pottery and clay idols.  Even today, one can see a few houses making pottery and there is even a potter's wheel in front of a few houses.  The small (five inches to one foot) idols are still made my women and children throughout the year.  It can be quite a sight to see rows of small idols sitting pretty in the sun waiting to dry after being painted by women and children.  Ambika who has been doing this since her childhood says, "We have been earning our bread by doing this trade for many years.  I remember doing this from my childhood and my children and after them my grand children have also learnt the trade.  My grand children and great grand children go to school and give me a helping hand when they are free".