Author: Uday Mahurkar
Publication: India Today
Date: August 26, 2002
Introduction: Art, for this schoolteacher,
begins and ends with Ganesh
Work, they say, is worship. For
artist A.J. Patel, it is more than that-it is a divine communion with the
divine being. Each time he picks up a pencil to make a sketch, his overwhelming
urge is to draw only the image of Lord Ganesh and every time in a different
form. An art teacher in a primary school in Prantij, a town near Ahmedabad,
the 57-year-old has made hundreds of sketches of Ganesh. A careful count
will reveal 256 prototype images in all. If the pictures show the elephant-headed
God displaying fantastic mudras, they also depict him as an amusing figure
in round and geometrical shapes. It is almost as if the amicable son of
Shiva and Parvati is willing to do anything in Patel's magical hands, not
just nibble at a ladoo with his trunk as he is traditionally portrayed.
Patel's drawings are a major draw
in Gujarat. That isn't much of a surprise though in a state that produces
the most number of Ganesh idols in India after Maharashtra. Ganesh enjoys
huge popularity among the Gujaratis, many of whom have approached the artist
with attractive offers for his works. But while traders customarily invoke
Ganesh's name when opening new books of accounts, Patel refuses to give
his inspiration a commercial turn. "I am happily employed," he says firmly.
"I don't do all this for money." And adds with a touch of fervour, "Perhaps
that is why I am able to see Ganesh in newer forms."
How this passion for the God associated
with auspicious beginnings started for Patel has a long and interesting
history. Way back in 1970, a fellow schoolteacher picked up an abandoned
and broken dwibhuj-a two-armed Ganesh idol-from Shamlaji, an ancient temple
town in north Gujarat, and installed it in the verandah of his house. A
few years later, when he had to shift to Vadodara, the teacher sold his
house along with the idol to a medical practitioner.
The new owner, a religious person,
decided to immerse the idol in a river in keeping with the Hindu tenet
that prohibits the worship of broken idols. A local art lover of Prantij
came to know about his intention, dissuaded him from dunking the idol and
procured it from him. Unfortunately the idol saviour suffered a heart attack
within a few days. Apprehensive that the unlucky turn of events had something
to do with the broken idol in his house, he eagerly gave it away to Patel,
who had been eyeing it for a long time.
Patel brought all his artistic experience
to bear on the restoration of the damaged sculpture. When he was satisfied
with his efforts, he placed the idol in the verandah of his house. It was
around this time that the creative spark struck and he was inspired to
make sketches of Ganesh in uncommon forms and unconventional shapes. One
of the more unusual is carved in the form of the swastika. The upper extensions
of the swastika form Ganesh's bust and arm while the lower and right axes
become his legs. There are many other striking flourishes in his collection:
a series shows little Ganesh crawling on his knees like Lord Krishna, another
shows him playing instruments like the veena and shehnai, yet others have
him emerging from the AMU syllable and from a pipal leaf. As Baldev, a
childhood friend of Patel, explains, these designs represent his pal's
divine calling. "He gets spiritual bliss out of it," says Baldev.
The artist, Ganeshwala A.J., as
the locals call him, derives a similar satisfaction in gifting these creations
to others. "Ganesh is the sarvamanya dev-universally acceptable deity-of
the Hindu pantheon," explains Patel. "I enjoy what I am doing and like
to gift my work as well." Patel also happily obliges anyone who comes with
a specific request, so Ganesh images have been configured out of material
like broken bangles and wheat grass.
Patel believes his deep faith in
the Lord has bailed him out of many troubles. Once an antique dealer landed
at his house and said he would pay Rs 80,000 for the restored dwibhuj Ganesh
idol. Patel refused to give in to the temptation of the lucrative offer.
Some months later, when the dealer was arrested for smuggling antique items,
the police learnt of the dwibhuj idol in Patel's house. They threatened
to charge him with illegal possession of the sculpture. Invoking Ganesh's
name, Patel managed to convince the authorities of his innocence.
His unstinted devotion, says Patel,
works in many ways. On a personal level, it has helped him come to terms
with the fact that he and his wife have no children. Now as far as he is
concerned, his sketches are his progeny, in more ways than one.
