Going green with Ganapati!

It’s heartening to see more and more from tellyworld opting for eco-friendly ways of celebrating festivals to preserve the environment.

Rupali Ganguly has been welcoming the elephant God in her house with an idol made out of saadu maati, for several years. “My mother is a Maharashtrian and since  childhood I remember we have been bringing idols made of saadu maati. In fact, as kids we used to make our own idol. Now I get the idol from an old artisan and book it three months in advance.” Rupali has always been getting a Krishnaswarupi bal Ganesh murti. “This time it’s makhan khanewala Ganesh,” smiles Rupali, who hosts the God for one-and-a-half day.

Raqesh Vashisth, who grew up in Pune,  prefers making the idol himself. He learnt the art from the caretaker of a temple, which was near his house. “I used to go to the temple as a child, and would be mesmerised by the way the caretaker would create idols. He would take the mud available on the riverbed, and make the idol without using moulds. When I asked him how he did it, he would say just start playing with it and it will happen on its own,” recalls Raqesh. When he tried it, to his utter surprise Raqesh found that he had managed to create a good one in his first attempt. “I was blessed,” he says simply. Raqesh continues the practice of making an idol in his house here, despite his hectic shooting schedules. He also makes it a point to immerse the idol in a tub on his terrace after hosting the God for one-and-a-half day.
Angad Bedi, who hails from Chandigarh started celebrating the festival after he landed in Mumbai. “I decorate the Ganesha personally and do all the necessary shopping for it myself,” says Angad, who is particular about buying an eco-friendly idol as it dissolves quickly in water.

Vishal Malhotra started bringing an eco-friendly idol home since last year. “We wanted an idol that would melt in a bucket of water in our home to avoid water pollution. My wife Rashi came up with the idea of preserving the essence of Ganapati by watering our plants with it. It keeps our house blessed through the year,” smiles Vishal.