Despite odds, this idolmaker counts among Goa’s finest

PERNEM: Ramakant Parsekar of Marathwada in Mandrem refused to let either poverty or his speech and hearing impairment limit him and applied himself to the learning and execution of the art of making Ganapati idol with such single minded focus that today he is counted among the state’s finest idolmakers.
Balu, as he is fondly called, hailed from a poor farming family, but chose to follow his passion — the art of clay sculpting — instead.This led him to an art workshop in Aronda in Maharashtra at a very young age where he learned how to make clay Ganesh idols. Senior artists at the workshop, Balu says, taught his using signals.
From here, to polish his skill, Balu went to his relatives in Palyem, who are idolmakers.
About 15 years ago he started his own workshop at his residence in a makeshift shed of plastic sheets, and went on to eke a living for his family. His father would lend him a helping hand. Today, Balu makes about 40-50 Ganesh idols. He also makes ‘nag’ idols for Nagpanchami and Krishna idols for Gokulashtami.
For the family of eight, which includes Balu’s four children, idol making is the only source of income.