It was chanting as well as enchanting time for the students of Happy Home and School for the Blind at Worli on Sunday. They had just said goodbyes to their favourite God — Ganapati Bappa.
What made the moment extra special was these visually impaired children created an eco-friendly idol with their own hands.

Over 100 enthusiastic children formed a snaking queue, holding a rope for support during immersion.

“They went singing and dancing to Haji Ali Sea face and came back crying after the visarjan (immersion),” says Meher Banaji, director of the school. “They were very attached to the Ganapati.”

Subash Kamble, an ex-student from the school, who excels in pottery and mosaic, helped make the Ganesh idol this year from red ‘geru’ sand.

“Red ‘geru’ sand disintegrates in water within 30 minutes,” he says.

Another student, Afzal Shaikh, performed the last ‘maha aarti’ before immersion. The children performed in short skits and plays for the past five days to keep their ‘Ganapati Bappa’ fully entertained.