MUMBAI, India (AP) — Rafiq Maqbool has been with The Associated Press for more than 20 years, covering conflict, politics, fashion shows, sports and everyday life. He has been based in Mumbai for the past several years. He always looks forward to photographing the annual Ganesh Festival.
Why this photo?
Every year for 10 days, Mumbai immerses itself in a frenzy of paying homage to the elephant-headed god Ganesha, the Hindu deity of wisdom, knowledge and good fortune. During this event, Lord Ganesh’s idols are displayed on public stages as well as brought into private homes around the city, where his presence is invoked and worshipped. Finally, these idols are plunged in water and destroyed as a forceful reminder not to become attached to their beauty and to remember that the lord’s energy lives on even after his image is gone.
However, behind-the-scenes preparations for this festival begin months in advance. Idol making is a serious industry and the skill is passed down from generation to generation. It offers seasonal employment during the lean monsoon months, as many migrants travel from rural areas to Mumbai to help with the labor-intensive process.
How I made this photo
Just three days before this year’s festival began, I walked through the lanes of Parel, Chinchpokli, and Lalbaug in central south Mumbai, where I saw devotees patiently waiting to inspect and pick up their idols. I wasn’t expecting to get any images of the idol making at this point. The buzz was all about getting consumers to choose the best-looking idol for their home or pandal — an open-sided tent-like structure — in the final 72 hours before the event begins.
Makeshift tents or workshops were lined with row upon row of idols of various sizes and styles, wrapped in plastic and ready for transport. In the back of one of the tents, though, I found myself surprised to see that some idols were still being prepped and ornamented.
I began photographing, and all around me were craftsmen who were concentrating on completing their labor of love as quickly as possible. A few artists were precariously positioned, high up on scaffolding, reaching out to apply a dab of paint here and there. The atmosphere was filled with quiet fervor and solemnity, and I, too, felt a serene sense settle inside me. Strangely, the pressure of executing the perfect photo did not consume me, yet I was laser-focused on capturing the intensity of the emotion in that workshop. I was using the 24-110 mm lens on my Sony Alpha 1 and carefully selecting frames.
Why this photo works
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed this particular individual working on some detailing on the inside of the palm of a Ganesha idol, and I instantly shot this photo before he noticed me. For me, getting this photo was incredibly remarkable since it’s rare to be completely invisible with a camera in your hand, but on this occasion, I was able to become a fly on the wall.
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Rafiq Maqbool, The Associated Press
