Experience shared by Puja Mishra - 5 minute read
“Every year, we hear about the increasing pollution level in India on the name of festivals. Well for this Ganesh Chaturthi, I decided to make an effort to reduce the burden of Mother Nature and celebrate the festival in an eco-friendly manner. The concept of 'Tree Ganesha' is not a new idea but it’s not easy to get the resources outside Maharashtra”
In pursuit of eco-friendly Ganesh Chaturthi
So this time I decided to come up with my own version of 'Tree Ganesha'. Yes, the DIY version :-)
Every year I use to prepare Ganesha idols but this time I thought of doing something completely eco-friendly.
For this year festivals, my search for craft moulds ended with Claysphere.com. The support team is very friendly and happy to support with the best for all my queries. They really helped me to get the right Ganesha mould which I wanted for this Ganesh Chaturthi.
The Shadu clay is a natural clay that can be purchased from online or from the local store. It is pollution-free and helps to maintain the greenery environment. The clay has high plasticity and can withstand high temperature. It is most suitable for making crafts and it is widely used for making Ganesh Idols.
The soil and coriander seeds were bought from a local nursery shop at a very minimalistic price of Rs.20 and Rs.75.
I mixed the coriander seeds and a little amount of fertilizer and clay to prepare the idol using the big size Ganesha mould which I purchased from Claysphere temple mould collection.
Then I blended up the clay and coriander seeds constantly. Kneaded it well to make sure there is no crack before applying it on the Ganesh mould.
Before spreading the clay to mould, I applied a thin layer of oil inside the mould to release the output easily. Then I pressed clay firmly to every corner of the mould in order to get a neat impression.
For getting the precise and perfect impression, I recommend using terracotta tools while taking out the output from the mould. Excess clay portions can be removed by using proper tools.
Even for the decoration of idol, I have used only natural flowers and banana leaf which won't lead to any pollution.
I was utmost happy when I see the coriander leaves started sprouting out. My Ganesha idol is turning into a plant! now I have a way to go green with Ganesha idols and to celebrate my festival in an eco-friendly way.
I promise I follow this every year and everyone should understand the concept of eco-friendly celebrations. In order to promote Green Ganesha awareness drives and workshops should be conducted. Societies can also organise competitions for the same.
