Environmental Consciousness
There has been an increasing awareness of eco-friendly practices in all walks of life. When it comes to the Ganesha festival too many people are crusading for the development and usage of such idols. With the usage of such idols, the water bodies get a significantly lesser dose of toxic chemical paints and Plaster of Paris.
The demand for eco-friendly Ganesha idols has been on the increase for the past 4 years, the idol makers say. This definitely is a healthy trend.
The call for such awareness has seen many different practices being followed across the country.
In Mumbai, several potters, sculptors, artists, and idol makers from across the country have been creating awareness amongst the people about eco-friendly Ganesh idols made by using clay and soil from lakes and rivers in the city. This is truly an effort to conserve the environment and promote traditional customs and art forms. It is very essential to change the mindset of people and make them aware and adopt eco-friendly practices.
According to the statistics shared by Ganesha idol dealers in the city, the demand for idols, especially eco-friendly ones, from abroad has been rising every year. Foreign countries are far stricter than India about environmental issues. This could be the reason why more people are demanding eco-friendly idols. The increase in demand is despite the fact that eco-friendly idols are costlier than those made of Plaster of Paris (PoP).
There is a 50 per cent increase in the orders for idols from abroad. Most of the orders were from Australia, Dubai, The Netherlands, the USA and Canada, and Singapore. Since these idols need to be handled with more care and to avoid damage during transit the courier firms are using press-rubber packaging, which is considered better than thermocole or bubble packing.
On average, a medium-sized idol costs anything from Rs 300 to Rs 350. However, the courier charges may vary from Rs 5,000 to Rs 6000, depending upon the country one is sending it to.
Modern materials and forms for creating eco-friendly Ganeshas
Impact of the idols made from modern materials: The Ganesha idols used for the puja are immersed in rivers, lakes and the sea. These are mostly made of Plaster of Paris (PoP) which does not dissolve in water easily. Plaster of Paris (POP) is not a naturally occurring material and contains gypsum, sulphur, phosphorus and magnesium. The idols made out of this material take several months to dissolve in water and in the process poison the waters of lakes, ponds, rivers and seas.
The dyes and paints used on these idols release harmful substances like lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium which increase the acidity and heavy metal content in the water and harm the environment. This also drastically increases the total dissolved solids (TDS) and the acid from the paints could damage the ecosystem. Several accessories used during the Ganesha Puja like thermocole decorations called “maker” , plastic flowers, cloth, incense, camphor and numerous other materials are dumped carelessly adding to the already polluted rivers and lakes.
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A video of the immersion process in the location shown above can be viewed at the link below.
(Video source)
In the case of rivers, these undissolved idols could block the natural flow of water, causing stagnation and breeding of mosquitoes. The polluted water also causes several diseases including skin diseases. The pollution from Ganesh Chaturthi idols also damages the ecosystem, kills the aquatic life. In many areas, the same polluted water gets pumped into homes!
To avoid this scenario, some people have started using materials like clay, leaves, papier mache, gram flour, puffed rice, fruits and vegetables to make eco-friendly Ganeshas in their homes during the festival. The adults in the family involve the children in such activities so the children learn about the climatic changes and global warming and the need to stop abusing the environment.
Some artists have created Ganeshas using unusual materials like buckets, tumblers, brushes and myriad other tools which are used to clean, even a washing machine! They want to use this festival to drive home the message of “cleanliness in general and in politics in particular” through this form of an artistic Ganesha. Since such Ganeshas are created in the spirit of art they are never immersed and are donated to charities or organisations which use them as art exhibits in institutions.
Ganesha idol made out of 10,001 shells. (Image source)
The promotional advertisement for the annual ‘Utsav Moorti Samman’ is shown below. This is a competition for the best Ganesha idols in the Mumbai area conducted by ‘The Times of India’ uses a Ganesha image created from junk and carries the message of recycling to avoid pollution- a call for ecological consciousness.
(Image source)
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Some people also believe in alternative solutions. Permanent idols made of stone can be used to perform the Ganesh Chaturthi each year along with a symbolic immersion in a bucket of water at home. These can be reused each year which they feel to a large extent fulfils the requirements of the puja process and at the same time is eco-friendly in nature.
Environment friendly idols and practices - Green influence
Trends in creating eco-friendly Ganeshas
Many NGOs that promote environmental awareness and conservation are organising events where people can participate to sculpt Ganesha idols in clay. The need for such events is essential as a lot of people although are interested in greener options, just don’t know where to buy them. These organisations also encourage people to use eco-friendly decorations and recycle the puja flowers. Every year after the Ganesha immersion, volunteers of some NGOs collect and compost the flowers adorning the idols.
Over the past few years an effort is being made by residents of IIT Bombay campus and nearby areas in Powai to take the earth from near their homes, sculpt a Ganesha and return it back to earth by immersing it in a nearby water body, thus ensuring the continuation of the tradition while not degrading the environment.
The soil is manually collected from the Powai lake, cleaned of pebbles and kneaded into fine dough, which is then provided to the workshop participants. Organised by the ‘Save Powai Lake Team’, the project called ‘Navsrujan’ ( a new beginning) was initiated in 2001. This effort has grown in the past 12 years and many workshops were conducted by this group in IIT, and in many schools around Powai to teach children and people to sculpt clay Ganesha idols. These have been used by many who believe in the concept of an eco-friendly Ganeshotsav. Presently Ms. Chaitali Gupta, is the coordinator of the project, from IIT Bombay campus. She has been conducting these workshops with the assistance of many volunteers who also believe in this effort.
The participants of these workshops make their own eco-friendly Ganeshas and take them home to install them for the puja instead of buying plaster of paris idols that have toxic colours that pollute water bodies and endanger aquatic flora and fauna. The workshop is an ongoing effort to save Powai Lake by IIT campus residents and residents of neighbouring areas.
The participation for this workshop has risen to many hundreds over the years which is definitely a positive indication that saving the environment is as an important agenda as performing the Ganesha puja.
Workshop (2013): These workshops were held at the Staff Club, IIT Bombay this year (2013) for three days to accommodate more than 200 participants.