I Always Go With The Flow And Mould My Own Ganpati Idol; Says actor Raqesh Bapat

It’s the fifth day of the humongous Ganpati festival which is celebrated with much pomp and splendour in our part of the city.

Having said that, the immersion off the plaster of Paris made Ganpati idols create a mess and pollute the waters of the city. Making an Eco-friendly Ganpati idol is the call of the moment and with that thought in mind, we had a word with actor Raqesh Bapat who is a pioneer of sorts in the TV industry as far as sculpting Eco-friendly Ganpati with his own hands, It is more of a ritual TV actor Raqesh Bapat has been following for the past 17 years.

This year, too, the actor has made his own eco-friendly Ganesha idol. Raqesh says that he never plans anything while sculpting the murti. “It has been 17 years. I just go with the flow and mould the idol.”

Interestingly, Raqesh says that he is not into idol worship. “I don’t follow set rituals; I believe in good karma. For me, praying is not sitting in front of God with hands joined; instead, it is creating him with a pure and clean mind. I find idol-making therapeutic, as I am not only creating something but also introspecting.” For the actor, the immersion of the idol is also a simple affair. “I keep it for one-and-a-half days and then immerse it at home in a tub. Since I use river silt to make the idol, I can reuse it in my home garden,” he says.

Raqesh has inspired many of his colleagues, too, including Karan Wahi, Rithvik Dhanjani, Surbhi Joshi and Tejaswee Prakash, to make their own idols.