Sankesh Bangera Creates 4-Foot Chocolate Ganpati Idol Entirely by Hand
Mumbai-based pastry chef and chocolatier Sankesh Bangera has created a 4-foot-tall Ganpati idol weighing around 75 kg, made entirely from chocolate. The intricate sculpture was hand-crafted without the use of ready-made moulds or non-edible internal supports.
The chocolate Ganpati took 36 hours to complete over three days. For Sankesh, the biggest challenge was not just creating an idol of this scale, but making sure the entire structure could stand on its own while maintaining the fine details and traditional character of Lord Ganesha.
A Ganpati Idol Sculpted Without Moulds
Instead of relying on conventional moulds, Sankesh chose to sculpt the idol by hand. This gave him greater control over the proportions, facial features, posture and smaller details as the sculpture gradually took shape.
The approach was particularly important when working on areas such as the face, trunk, crown, jewellery, hands, drapery and Mushak. Since the sculpture was being created at a large scale, parts often had to be reshaped or rebuilt as the proportions developed.
“When you work without a mould, you are not restricted by a fixed shape. You can keep correcting, adding, carving and changing the piece until it starts feeling right,” Sankesh explains.
The Challenge of Building a Chocolate Structure
Creating a 4-foot sculpture entirely from chocolate also required careful planning of its structure and weight distribution.
With no non-edible internal support, every section had to carry its own weight. The arms, crown, ornaments and other extended elements were particularly challenging because their weight could affect the balance of the entire idol.
“Every section had to be planned, keeping balance, gravity and weight distribution in mind. If one area became too heavy, it could put pressure on another section or create a crack at the joints,” says Sankesh.
Each individual element had to be attached carefully and allowed to stabilise before additional details were added. Even small changes in the angle of an extended part could affect the overall balance.
Keeping Chocolate Stable While Sculpting
Temperature was another major factor during the process. Chocolate can soften quickly because of body heat and surrounding temperatures, while the sculpture still needs enough strength to support larger sections and delicate details.
This meant Sankesh had to constantly monitor the material while shaping and assembling the idol.
The process involved much more than simply forming chocolate into the shape of Ganpati. It required sculpting, structural planning and a detailed understanding of how chocolate behaves at different stages of the process.
“This was not simply moulding chocolate into a form. It was understanding the material, engineering the structure and sculpting it at the same time,” Sankesh says.
The result is a large-scale Ganpati sculpture that combines pastry craftsmanship with traditional idol-making techniques, entirely through hand-sculpting in chocolate.
