AAMCHA GANPATI…ECO-FRIENDLY ISHTYLE

Oh! So, every Mumbaikar, is readying his home to be an abode for the heavenly,
beloved Elephant God- ‘Ganpati’. I still remember last years occasion whence along with
my friends, I had gone to a nearby lake to survey the entire furore surrounding ‘Ganapati
Visarjan’. As soon as the Ganapati idols were taken for immersion, the people fervently
shouted in their ecstasy:
“Ganpati Bappa Morya!
Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Ya!”
But at that time, I thought that why were these people forgetting in their fervour
about the harm they were causing to the environment by polluting it.
The colours used to paint the idols contain Lead, Chromium and Cadmium which
contaminate the water and damage the aquatic life. Plaster of Paris (POP) used for
making idols is acidic and non-biodegradable in nature and thus harms the environment.
Why do we forget that it is in fact we ourselves who are responsible for such disasters as
26/7/2005 and 30/6/2007!
During the 10- day long ‘Ganapati Utsav’ we honour Ganesha by treating him
like a king, praying to him, feeding him and inviting family, friends and strangers to
admire him and take his blessings. But alas! On the immersion day, we end up polluting
the already endangered environment (read ‘Mithi’ River) to a greater extent and thus in
fact displeasing the Lord Himself.
So, what is the SOLUTION? The solution to this problem has to be eco-friendly
idols made from ‘clay’ and ‘paper pulp’ which get easily decomposed without having any
adverse effects on the environment. Such eco-friendly idols can be found with any idol
vendor and though they cost a bit more than the usual POP idols, the money is worth
being spent if it means even one extra year of normal sustenance (remember incessant
rains!) of human kind. These natural idols are painted with a variety of natural colours
such as ‘multani mitti’ for beige- skin colour, ‘turmeric’ for yellow colour and a variety
of ‘natural vegetable dyes’ that are beneficial to the cause of the environment.
Also, there could be competitions for ‘The Most Eco-Friendly Mandal’, Debates,
Essay-writing and Poster competitions so as to encourage ecological rationalism at the
grass root level and sensitize the younger generations.
‘The Lord who removes obstacles will surely shower his blessings on those who
do not create more obstacles to this earth!’

Akhil Jain,
Class-X,
Ryan International School,
Kharghar, Navi Mumbai.