Ramaben the creativity par excellence 

You might not have heard about her but she is creator of idols of Lord Ganesha with a difference, she sculpts the deities with blind folded and in full view of public. She has already sculpted more than 212000 idols of Ganesha so far within a period of last twelve years. Ramaben Shah is the only artist in the world who has created this record and her name is in Limca book of records for her achievements. 

Ramaben Shah

Awards- She has won Star Talent award 2003, woman of the year 2004, Mahila Shakti award 2005, Kala Praveen award, Star Mahila Ratna award, Nari Ratna award and many other awards so far.

Coverage- Many Indian and foreign electronic and print media including American biographical channel, Aastha, Loksatta, Zee TV, ABC news (USA) etc have covered her so far. She is an honorary member of police peace and women’s cell. She loves to learn languages including English during her free time.

Records

• She sculpted 9999 deities in 99days
• She also sculpted 999 deities in 24 hours
• Her name registered 11 times in Limca book
• She has sculpted more than 212000 Ganpati idols so far 

Ramaben- The lady with Ganpati 

As they say the one who has certain aims and willpower to do, some thing with full devotion would certainly succeed with the grace of god almighty. The one who wants to help others selflessly always succeed. In fact, people like these take birth to do some thing to accomplish certain goals and they never fail in their missions. Ramaben shah was born to help people in pain and that proves every time when some one who took a Ganpati deity from her, found his/her problems disappeared as soon as they started worshipping them. People come to meet her from distant places to spend some time with her although she has a tight schedule, but she never declines and mix with them freely without a problem and all her pleasure. 

The people who visit her place, later explain the experience of meeting her as an unforgettable one because god has given her some thing special. A special touch of healing that shows in her when someone meets her. Ramaben certainly is the answer to the doubts raised by our old-fashioned society who thought that women were no good to do every thing that men can do, apart from their assigned jobs within their families, kitchen and raisin up children with the help of their male family members. Ramaben has proved them wrong; she has sculpted 212000 deities within 12 years and all of them of Lord Ganesha, the Ganpati. 

From hobby to fame

Ramaben was interested in arts and crafts from her childhood and she used to make some thing or other almost every day since she was only six. She still remembers that she would find it hard to sleep the night she would not create a new item. She would even get up in the night to do some creative job to satisfy her own self. 

Born in a joint family of Nadiad city in Gujarat state Ramaben is eldest among twenty siblings. She did her B.Com through Gujrati medium and she was married at the age of 19 in a Mumbai based family, happily settled with a routine and satisfactory way. She was busy in household chores as most married women do in our country. But she always found time to spend with her childhood hobby of making something or other in her leisure time as usual until a dream changed her life one night suddenly. That was almost 12 years before when Ganesha came in her dream and asked her to make HIS idols.

She woke up and recalled the whole dream, gave it a long thought and told about it to other family members the next morning. Every one in the family was amused but this was order of lord himself. Therefore, Ramaben started sculpting idols of Ganesha the Ganpati without thinking much, this in fact was her newly found religion. The creator had started creating creator. She found it easy with her childhood practice of making different items without extra efforts. Her work was excellent so some of the people who came across her work started purchasing some of her idols. 

However, as the time passed and people started feeling a strange relief and progress in their lives by worshipping the idols sculpted by Ramaben that made a big difference. The story spread too fast as people in our country have lot of faith in matters related to religion. People started to come to buy the idols made by Ramaben in big numbers and that was not all, they would spend some time with her before leaving with an idol of Ganpati. Ramaben never asked for money people paid her for her sculpture, but the people who bought them self assed the cost and put the money in a donation box as Ramaben never touched any money paid by devotees.

Ramaben started making idols in public

Ramaben sculpts Ganpati with different materials like clay, plaster of Paris, crystal etc and she became so famous within a short period that public wanted to watch her sculpt idols in front of them. And the most amusing part of the story is that she makes these idols blindfolded while performing live shows. Most of the idols made during live shows sell like hot cakes as the beauty of these is some thing out of the world. She has the divine power behind her that prompts her to do wonderfully well. She even forgets about daily needs while sculpting and that too blindfolded. She only removes it while giving the finishing touch to the idol.  

She can see Ganpati while sculpting

According to Ramaben, she always keeps Ganpati in her mind when she starts working and as soon as she takes raw material in her hand, she starts chanting mantras and prayers until the time an idol is completed. That helps her give the idol the same shape of lord as that in her mind at the time of making a particular piece. Her faith increased as much as people bought the idols during her live shows and every idol took a better shape than the previous one. She never handed over an idol unless she chanted Ganpati mantra with the person who was going to have her creation. She always felt happy when people accepted that her idols helped them having their problems solved. That always happened during her live shows, she has performed 600+ so far. 

Family values have top priorities for her

Despite being so busy in her profession, she has never neglected her family and other elders around in her circle. She comes forward to serve them without any hesitation or delay. She thinks that family and people who need come first before any other thing. Life for Ramaben is all about service of the family and needy ones, that’s what she thinks the secret of her success. She owes every success in her life to parents from both sides, without whom she thinks her carrier couldn’t take off. 

In the last

Ramaben is a world-renowned artist but she always makes it a point to come forward to serve to any one in need. She finds it equally good toserve God as well as society in her own way. Ramaben the mother of two daughters and one son who has won number of awards and rewards for her creativity thinks that everyone has an artist in him that surfaces one day to surprise every one. Just keep doing your good work and leave every thing to Ganpati. 

(Ganpati Photos from wikipedia)