Eco-friendly Ganesh

Every year, ‘Ganeshotsav or Ganesha Chathurti’ is widely celebrated with euphoria, not only in India but also across the world. Lord Ganesha is revered as the deity of intellect and wisdom and is known as the patron of all arts. Ganesh idols, which are brought home on Ganesh Chaturthi, the fourth day of Bhadrapada (a month of the Hindu calendar) are worshipped with great fervor and love. Prayers are chanted to invoke the blessings of the Lord, as well as aartis or bhajans, are sung with the offerings of specially prepared food called as Naivedya or prasad. At the end of the festival (Punarmilap), devotees reluctantly bid farewell to Ganapati Bappa with a heavy heart, wherein the idols are immersed in the nearby water bodies such as river, lake, sea or artificial pond. However, have we ever thought of what exactly happens after the immersion? Does the idol completely dissolve in water? “Undoubtedly Not!”

So what could be the permanent or environment-friendly solution to this? The answer is the ‘Eco-friendly Ganesh’.

Why has the need for an Eco-friendly Ganesh idol arisen today?

In earlier times, these idols were made of biodegradable substances such as wood or soil. However, today these – are made using Plaster of Paris (PoP) and synthetic colors, which are toxic to human and do not break down easily in water. The remnants of the idols that are found lying undissolved prove harmful to the environment. The chemical substances used too, make the water increasingly acidic endangering the marine ecology of the water bodies. Moreover, if such water is used in daily life, it makes human susceptible to diseases.

To avoid these ill-effects and safeguard the environment, Puja N Pujari initiated of making eco-friendly Ganesh idols. These idols completely dissolve in the water further preventing the spread of harmful effects.

Stay away from POP Idols. Instead, Buy an eco-friendly clay idol. Do avoid clay idols with overly colorful paints, which could be toxic. Clay idols that have been painted with vegetable dyes are a good alternative. Communities can also store their big idols for future use, and only immerse a small clay idol.

Decoration/Pooja Samagri

For decoration, use only flowers, diyas, and lights. Avoid the usage of shiny ribbons, Thermocol, plastic beads, etc as they all end up as reject waste. For the pooja, use only flowers, fruits, coconut, mango leaves, tulsi, grass, betel nut leaves.

Buy Pooja Samagri the whole betel nut or buy Haldi-kumkum all in a box.

Prasadam

Switch to eco-friendly, recyclable tableware to serve festival goodies.

Serve prasadam in compostable tableware like donnais, banana leaves and areca nut plates. Do not use Styrofoam, paper or plastic tableware. These are not bio-degradable, and once soiled with the food they cannot be recycled and end up going to reject waste.

Immersion/Visarjan

Use a bucket of water at home or large water drums in your community to immerse your idols. Clay idols typically dissolve in two to three days. The leftover mud can be used for plants.

Go green this Ganesha Chaturti Festival, and do your bit to save our dying water bodies.