Designer deities

Designed in the image of god

Gargi Gupta

New Delhi

September 15, 2007

Indian mythological figures and gods are being designed

in porcelain, brass and crystal by leading international

brands.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Store in New Delhi's

Square One Mall, Saket, will have a rather special

addition to its fare in mid-October - a Ganesha,

modelled after a 15th-century Thai statue, in the

museum's collection.

The bonded bronze, hand-patinated Ganesha, which

depicts the Indian deity seated cross-legged on a raised

pedestal, was introduced last month in New York and

only around 25 of the 300-400 limited edition pieces

will hit the Indian market.

The Ganesha was developed, says Karane Jain, CEO

and brand custodian (India), out of his consultations

with Met Store officials in the US on coming up with

products that have a special resonance in India, where

the Met set up shop last year. The Ganesha is not, of

course, the first Hindu deity to be replicated by the Met.

There's a statue of Uma, based on a Nepalese figure,

which is one of the faster moving products at the Met's

New Delhi store - five were brought in last month and

only three remain. The Uma is priced at Rs 19,000 (the

Ganesha will be priced similarly, says Jain).

The Met is not the only American/European brand

making Hindu gods and goddesses, and expensive ones

at that. There's Lladro, the Spanish maker of hand-

crafted porcelain figures, which has come up with a

limited edition Lakshmi this year, in addition to a

Bansuri Ganesha and a Veena Ganesha, priced at Rs

1,64,500.

In fact, Lladro has been making Hindu deities for the

past five years now, having come up with its first

Ganesha in 2002. The company, says Amar Agarwal,

managing director of SPA Group (Lladro's partner in

India), had been getting requests for such manifestations

of Indian mythology and culture for 15 years but was

scared to get into it for fear of offending religious

sensibilities.

" Nowhere else does Lladro make such religious

figures. " As it turned out, Lladro needn't have feared.

Over the years, the Lladro Spice of India has had Radha-

Krishna, little Kanhaiyan, the cow, two yoga postures,

and coming up are two more variations of Ganesha - a

dancing one, and another playing the damroo.

Daum, the more-than-a-century-old French maker of

exquisite objets d'art and jewellery, too has been making

Hindu deities. In fact, says Mridu Mohta, manager of

Ganga Expressions, its distributor in India, Daum was

the pioneer here as it came up with its first Ganesha in

2000.

Over the years it has added to its pantheon images of

Lakshmi, Radha-Krishna and Tirupati. Speaking of how

the market has grown, she says, " Initially, the company

wasn't sure how these figurines would do and we had to

give 100 per cent buy-back guarantee. But they did very

well. People bought them to worship in their homes, or

as housewarming gifts. Now, of course, companies are

not emphasising so much on the religious aspect as they

are on the decorative. "

The Ganesha, of course, is quite a favourite, having been

attempted by other well-known names like Frazer &

Haws, Lalique and Baccarat. Lalique came up with a

crystal Ganesha way back in 2001, and this year it is

coming up with a Lakshmi. Unfortunately, it won't be

available in India, since Lalique doesn't have a

showroom here, or distribution arrangements with any

local agency. Similarly, the Baccarat Ganesha too was

never sold in India.

Interestingly, there's an Indian company in the business

of these high-end, exclusive, expensive deities. D'mart

Exclusif, a venture by the Dolpin Group, conceptualises

and designs figures of Hindu deities, and then gets them

hand-crafted by companies in Italy and Germany.

Linea Argenti in Italy is the manufacturer of its cast-

silver range of Ganeshas, Saraswatis, Durgas, Ram

Durbars and Balaji (recently introduced), while Ormolu,

a German company, makes its line of porcelain and

bronze deities.

All of these lines come in limited editions - a

limitation imposed by its hand-crafted production that

they've made into their calling card in the luxury

market. Naturally, prices are quite high - starting from

Rs 15,000- 20,000 for the small two-six inches tall

figures that Daum now makes, and going up to Rs 2-2.5

lakh for brands like Lalique and Baccarat. And given

rising incomes and a neo-religious upsurge among the

Gen X, there's no dearth of buyers.

Agarwal reports a 200 per cent year-on-year growth for

Lladro in India. For the Lakshmi, Lladro has a more

than three months long waiting list, which means

bookings for the 400 or so idols set aside for India (of

the 2,000 idols in this edition) is as good as sold. Not

just that, being collectibles, Agarwal says there's a

thriving market for a range after its been retired by the

company.

" The Ganesha which we priced at Rs 69,000 in 2002 is

quoting at Rs 7.5 lakh. " But not everyone is similarly

optimistic. Mohta of Ganga Expressions says the market

has plateaued of late. " After all, how many figures can

you keep inside the mandir at your home? So companies

are now taking to innovations like Ganesha playing the

bansuri, or dancing, which you can keep in the drawing

room as well. "

Temple or drawing room, it is clear that Indians can't

seem to have enough of these branded deities.

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