Ganesh Chaturthi: Mumbai is high on green Ganesha

Just before one settles down to think that papier macheGanpatis are creating a buzz this year, comes news of people taking to other eco-friendly forms. This includes Ganesha murtis made out of alum, chocolate or with seeds and fish friendly food in the stomach. Many have even opted to create their own eco-friendly murtis of Bappa at home. The numerous workshops conducted this year also show that Mumbai is serious about going green.

Murtikar Rohit Vaste experimented with papier mache Ganpatis on a smaller scale last year, to counteract the bulk sales of PoP (Plaster of Paris) idols at every gully. It has paid off dividends for his decade-old family venture this year. "The response to papier mache Ganpatis has been humungous this year. In fact, there's been 80% sales vis-a-vis PoP," he says. The process of making papier mache idols, which involves the use of paper, clay and natural glues is more time-consuming than clay. However, it's lightweight, durable and can be couriered without the risk of it being damaged.

Dattadri Kothur, a commercial artist, who initiated the tree Ganesha concept last year, is also surprised at how the concept has been lapped up Mumbaikars. 'I started making a few idols last year with red soil and seeds in Ganesha's stomach. These idols, when immersed in a pot, grow back as lady finger saplings or tulsi. I wanted to do something that was eco-friendly and didn't just end with visarjan; the plant that grows back is a reminder of the ongoing cycle," he says.

Anand Pendharkar, an ecologist, has come up with fish-friendly Ganpati idols. These are murtis made of clay and painted in natural colours like haldi, kumkum, multani mitti, gheru and are stuffed with fish-friendly food like corn, spinach, dough and wheat noodles that the fish can nibble on when it disintegrates in the water during visarjan.

Another element that is catching on is alum. First attempted in 2009, sculptor Vivek Kamble says, "Alum is antiseptic. So, when the idol dissolves immediately in water, it cleans it too." A design and technology company also attempted it last year in Mumbai as part of their eco-Ganesha triology.

Chocolicious charity
Last year, Rintu Rathod made a 3.5ft chocolate Ganpati, which was immersed in milk on the last day of the festival. The milkshake was then distributed to 100 underprivileged children. This time, she has increased the height to nearly 5ft so that she can reach out to more children with it. "I get orders to make chocolate Ganpatis, but I don't want to earn from it. I tell people to attend my workshops instead and create their own chocolate Ganpatis at home," she says, adding that she was quite busy conducting numerous chocolate and tree Ganesha workshops this year.