The Ganapati idol made by the Young Boys of Boca de Vaca has grabbed a fair share of attention for the spectacular and creative presentation of Lord Ganesha. Made entirely of artificial jewels it is indeed a vision of beauty and art.

The Young Boys of Boca de Vaca of Panaji have been making attractive Ganesh idols since 2007. “The idea of making a giant Ganesh idol was to have one big Ganesh idol in the vicinity of Panaji city; otherwise, we have to go to far off places. The Young Boys of Boca de Vaca are an artistically inclined lot and this gives their talent exposure. Boys as young as eight lend a hand,” informs the president of the Young Boys of Boca de Vaca, Mr Devanand Mayekar.
The Ganesh idol this year is made with 250 kgs of artificial jewellery beads and is very fascinating indeed. “It was not an easy task making the idol. We have had to travel all the way to Mumbai to buy beads as one wholesaler from Belgaum recommended a shop in Mumbai. The concept of making a Ganesha from beads was given by Mr Vallabh Chari around two-and-a-half months ago and since then we have been working on its fabrication and preparation. The boys were so enthusiastic about making the idol that out of excitement, they couldn’t even sleep. After office hours, they would head straight to the site of work and get down to the Ganesh preparations, which would go on till late into the night,” informs Mr Mayekar.
The painstaking task of stringing the beads together took time because of which they could not start the concerned festivities on Chaturthi day itself and their celebrations had to be put off till September 16. Consequently, the idol was opened to public viewing on September 17.
The Young Boys of Boca de Vaca, as far as possible, try and make a Ganesh idol that has an eco-friendly theme in order to spread awareness on the issue. In the year 2007 they had made a peepal tree which looked exactly like the original. No one could believe that it was artificial. In 2008, they created a floating boat.
“We don’t want to dismantle the Ganesh idol; instead we want to keep it for an exhibition,” says Mr Mayekar.
The Ganesh idol is modelled on a mini-Ganesh idol that is placed alongside the main idol. To give an idea about the preparations that went into making the idol, photographs are exhibited at the entrance of the venue. These photographs are from 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. The expenditure incurred in making the presentation came to over RS two lakhs.
Mr Vallabh Chari, Mr Mahesh Chari, Mr Mahesh Gaonkar, Mr Ganesh (Kaka) Amonkar, Mr Sidhesh Mayenkar, Ms Payal Mayekar, Mr Ashwin Chari and Mr Dattaguru Sawant are the young talents behind the creation.
(The viewing of the Ganesh dekawa will be on till the 21st day of Ganesh Chaturthi)