![\"Meet](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134331353,imgsize-961272,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/ali-spent-his-youth-as-a-daily-wage-worker-in-mumbai-and-madhya-pradesh.jpg\" "\\"Ali")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThere was a time when Ishtiaq Ali returned home with the idols he had made, only to be told that they would not help run the household. Today, the 85-year-old artist from Kakori in Lucknow is drawing attention for carving Lord Ganesha directly onto a living tree. For decades, he has been making idols of Hindu gods and goddesses. His work has now drawn attention through videos shared on social media, including an Instagram video with Shubh Tales.In a new viral video, Ali is seen working on a tree and making the form of Lord Ganesha. The artist\u2019s unusual method, his age and his understanding of idol-making have made his story stand out. But behind the images of the tree and the unfinished Ganpati is a longer story about a man who spent much of his life working for a living before finding purpose in his art.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Around 10-15 years ago, he began making idols more seriously.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Ali spent his youth as a daily wage worker in Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh. He has spoken about growing up in poverty with his four brothers and two sisters. In a conversation with Shobhit Mathur (@Shubh Tales), he said, \u201cWhen India got independence, we four brothers and two sisters grew up in a zoo, saw a lot of poverty.\u201dHe has also described how his life changed when he returned to the craft he loved. Around 10-15 years ago, he began making idols more seriously. His first successful carving gave his hands a new purpose. As age and circumstances made steady work more difficult, idol-making became his way of continuing to work. He shapes figures with patience, paying attention to their faces, hands, feet, jewellery and clothing.<\/p>\n One of the most difficult parts of Ali\u2019s story is the lack of appreciation he experienced in the early years. He had spent years making idols with his hands, but there was no one to ask about his work or appreciate it. When he returned home with the idols, his wife would tell him: \u201cTake these and throw them into the Gomti. This will not run the household.\u201d The situation has now changed, and the same idols began receiving attention across the country.<\/p>\n Ali\u2019s current work includes a carving of Lord Ganesha directly on a living tree. The Instagram video describes him as an artist who does not simply paint a god\u2019s image on paper or make a sculpture from a separate piece of wood. Instead, he works on a live tree. The tree remains unharmed. It also shows how a place that was once used for throwing garbage changed after people saw a religious image taking shape on the tree. People have stopped throwing garbage there.<\/p>\n Ali\u2019s understanding of idols is also a major part of the videos about him. He explains that there is one part of an idol that is made at the very end: the eyes. Normally, the artist first completes the body, hands, feet, jewellery and clothing. The eyes are made last because, until then, the idol is considered only a sculpture and not the full representation of a deity.He says, \u201cThe eyes are made at the very end, because until the eyes are made, the idol does not have life. Until then, it is only a statue, not the form of God.\u201d Ali said his hands tremble slightly when he makes the eyes. \u201cAfter making the eyes, my hand trembles a little, because it feels that this is no longer just wood.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ali\u2019s current work includes a carving of Lord Ganesha directly on a living tree. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Another video about Ali focuses on a small detail of Lord Ganesha\u2019s idol: the direction of the trunk. Ganesha idols with the trunk turned to the left are traditionally associated with homes, peace and balance. This is why many households prefer that form. Right-trunk Ganesha idols are referred to as Siddhivinayak, associated with power and siddhi, or spiritual accomplishment.The video presents Ali explaining the difference. \u201cBecause this is not just a difference in design. Left-trunk Ganesha is considered auspicious for the home. It is believed to bring peace and balance, which is why most homes prefer this form. The right-trunk Ganesha is called Siddhivinayak. It is considered a form of power and siddhi, but it has to be worshipped according to specific rituals. It is considered a little more difficult, which is why these idols are mostly installed in temples and less often in homes,\u201d he said in the video.<\/p>\n Ali has also shared a story about a Muslim man who once approached him for a Ganesha idol. In an interview with Shubh Tales, he recalled: \u201cOne man came to me once and said, \u2018Make a 5-inch idol for me of Ganesha. He said he would keep it in his house.\u2019 I asked, \u2018What\u2019s your name?\u2019 He answered, \u2018Saleem.\u2019 I asked, \u2018What are you going to do with the idol?\u2019 He said, \u2018We\u2019ll keep it in the house. We\u2019ll use it as a decoration in our house.\u2019 When I heard him saying that, I was very happy and my motivation to keep going increased.\u201dHis own explanation for continuing to make idols is also personal. In the Instagram video with Shubh Tales, he says: \u201cWhen I sleep, I see Devi-Devtas in my dreams.\u201d<\/div>\n Ali spent his youth as a daily wage worker in Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh. There was a time when Ishtiaq Ali returned home with the idols he had made, only to be told that they would not help run the household. Today, the 85-year-old artist from Kakori in Lucknow is drawing attention for carving Lord […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ali-spent-his-youth-as-a-daily-wage-worker-in-mumbai-and-madhya-pradesh.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ali-spent-his-youth-as-a-daily-wage-worker-in-mumbai-and-madhya-pradesh.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ali-spent-his-youth-as-a-daily-wage-worker-in-mumbai-and-madhya-pradesh.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ali-spent-his-youth-as-a-daily-wage-worker-in-mumbai-and-madhya-pradesh.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ali-spent-his-youth-as-a-daily-wage-worker-in-mumbai-and-madhya-pradesh.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ali-spent-his-youth-as-a-daily-wage-worker-in-mumbai-and-madhya-pradesh.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ali-spent-his-youth-as-a-daily-wage-worker-in-mumbai-and-madhya-pradesh.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ali-spent-his-youth-as-a-daily-wage-worker-in-mumbai-and-madhya-pradesh.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ali-spent-his-youth-as-a-daily-wage-worker-in-mumbai-and-madhya-pradesh.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ali-spent-his-youth-as-a-daily-wage-worker-in-mumbai-and-madhya-pradesh.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ali-spent-his-youth-as-a-daily-wage-worker-in-mumbai-and-madhya-pradesh.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ali-spent-his-youth-as-a-daily-wage-worker-in-mumbai-and-madhya-pradesh.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ali-spent-his-youth-as-a-daily-wage-worker-in-mumbai-and-madhya-pradesh.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ali-spent-his-youth-as-a-daily-wage-worker-in-mumbai-and-madhya-pradesh.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Ali spent his youth as a daily wage worker in Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh. There was a time when Ishtiaq Ali returned home with the idols he had made, only to be told that they would not help run the household. Today, the 85-year-old artist from Kakori in Lucknow is drawing attention for carving Lord […]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":5,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ali-spent-his-youth-as-a-daily-wage-worker-in-mumbai-and-madhya-pradesh.jpg",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ali-spent-his-youth-as-a-daily-wage-worker-in-mumbai-and-madhya-pradesh.jpg",300,169,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ali-spent-his-youth-as-a-daily-wage-worker-in-mumbai-and-madhya-pradesh.jpg",150,84,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}From daily wage work to carving idols<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
![\"Around](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/imgsize-1382261,msid-134331369\/around-10-15-years-ago-he-began-making-idols-more-seriously.jpg\" "\\"Around")
<\/p>\nHis wife once asked him to throw the idols into the Gomti river<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
The Ganpati he is carving on a living tree<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Why the eyes are made last<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
The Muslim artist who explains Ganpati\u2019s trunk<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
![\"Ali\u2019s](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/imgsize-918265,msid-134331391\/alis-current-work-includes-a-carving-of-lord-ganesha-directly-on-a-living-tree.jpg\" "\\"Ali\u2019s")
<\/p>\nA five-inch Ganpati made for a Muslim man<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"