Blind sculptor from UP's Basti crafts lifelike Ganesha, Durga idols by touch

Rampal creating idol (Instagram)

His eyes can’t see but his hands can. And with his hands and sense of touch, he has created over 700 sculptures till now. Meet Rampal, a 50-year-old man who didn’t let blindness determine his fate.

He lives at a busy stretch in Basti, Uttar Pradesh. And this man is literally god-gifted who creates magic every year ahead of the festive season. While artisans around him work with their eyes fixed on clay, bamboo frames and colours, Rampal works differently.He uses his touch and sense to create life-size sculptures of Maa Durga and Lord Ganesha during festive seasons. He runs his fingers over the clay, feels its texture and shape, and slowly turns an ordinary mass of earth into gorgeous idols.Meet Rampal, a visually impaired artists since birth

Rampal’s hands, after decades of practice, have developed a special skill and extraordinary familiarity with the human form and the traditional shapes of Hindu deities. He can feel the structure of an unfinished idol, understand where material needs to be added or removed and give different parts their shape. He doesn’t need eyesight to create his idols.He started when he was just four years oldAt that time he used to live in Nikunj Nagar in Shantipur, Kolkata.

According to the report, he was one of three brothers, and all were born visually impaired. For their father, Vinay Krishnapal, the circumstances were extremely difficult. However, he didn’t give up. He decided to teach all his sons a skill they could eventually use to support their lives.And that skill was idol-making.When Rampal was four, his father started teaching him the basics of the craft. The lessons started with the fundamentals, cutting, joining and tying bamboo strips to create the basic frame.

From there came the more intricate process of applying layers of clay and shaping the structure.It took Rampal nearly 10 years to learn the craft

Rampal, a 50-year old sculpture (Instagram)

The training was not easy. Rampal recalls that mistakes sometimes earned him a scolding or even a beating from his father. Over time, repeated practice transformed what initially seemed almost impossible into something his hands could understand.For a sighted sculptor, the eyes can instantly reveal whether an idol is symmetrical, whether the nose is correctly positioned or whether one arm is proportionate to the other.Rampal had to develop his own way of answering those questions. His fingers became his measuring tool.When touch became his way of seeingToday, Rampal can reportedly identify suitable clay simply by touching it. He works with the material, feels its consistency and builds the idol step by step. The bamboo framework comes first, followed by the clay, which is gradually shaped into the required form.Rampal says there were times when he injured his hand while hammering nails into the framework.

On other occasions, idols were damaged because he could not see what had gone wrong. But those failures became part of his learning process. Eventually, he learned how to be perfect at it.Today, he can perfectly create Ganesha, Durga and Lakshmi idols.From Kolkata to Basti in search of work

Rampal creating idol (Instagram)

Rampal and his family eventually began travelling from Kolkata to Basti because the work offered better earning opportunities.

He now works around Baburhwa intersection in the Chhawani area of Basti during the festive season.Today it is the family’s livelihood.As per reports, Rampal makes around 30–40 idols in a year and earns approximately INR 1 lakh to INR 1.5 lakh. He says he has made more than 700 idols during his lifetime. His wife Kanchana Pal, son Saurabh and daughter-in-law also help with the work.The demand for his work has grown over the years. Last year, he reportedly made four Ganesha idols, 30 Durga idols and 10 Lakshmi idols, with bookings coming several months before the festivals.For the 2026 Ganesh festival, he prepared eight Ganesha idols, most of which had already been sold, according to the report.Another interesting aspect to Rampal’s workThe report says he uses soil sourced from fields rather than plaster of Paris and uses colours made from plants, flowers, leaves, fruits and vegetables. He says his idols dissolve in water after immersion, reducing the waste associated with some other idol-making materials.He may not be able to look at the idols once they are finished. But after decades of working with clay, his hands know what they are supposed to create.And perhaps that is what makes Rampal’s story so touching.