MUMBAI, INDIA, July 31, 2006: Lalbaug has no art galleries, but from June through September each year it becomes the headquarters for some excellent artists. These are skilled painters who temporarily leave their regular jobs in order to paint thousands of clay and plaster Ganeshas for Ganesha Chaturthi. Those who can make Ganesha’s eyes come alive are greatly prized, for this art is so exacting and delicate, it’s not even called painting, rather it’s likhayee – best translated as calligraphy. This final step in the process has only a handful of painters who are assigned. Arun Naik and Raju Shinde are two of the chosen few. Naik, 43, has been painting Ganeshas for the last 24 years and says with pride, “Decorate Ganesha any way you want, but ultimately everybody looks into his eyes. They convey his emotion. That’s why they have to radiate and glow.”
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