After two years of restricted celebration, preparations are in full swing for the ten-day long auspicious Ganesha festival which begins from tomorrow onwards. . This festival is celebrated with huge pomp and show by the people across India. However, for Mumbaikars, the festival holds special significance. It is for this reason at 21, feet Mumbaicha Peshwa in Vile Parle will be the tallest eco-friendly Ganesh idol. According to a Hindustan Times report, Raju Mayekar (45) and his father Digambar Mayekar (72) idol, who sculpted the Mumbaicha Peshwa idol carefully planned the entire sculpting with minute precision.
Mayekars detailed that the planning to make the tallest eco-friendly idol began in January when members of the mandal visited wedding halls to collect banana leaves and stalk to extract the fibres. “We ground them and dried them to finally assemble the idol on a Garuda bird,” Raju Mayekar said.Explaining the tedious process, Raju Mayekar said, “It is made up of 50% banana fibres, 20% tissue paper to ensure that the idol doesn’t crack. We also used gum and chalk powder as finishing touches. In March, the dried fibres were dried under the sun to loosen the fibre gum. We then added whitening powder and carved the idol.”The speciality of this idol is that it is very lightweight and four people can easily lift the idol. Besides, when immersed in water, the idol will turn into nirmalya (like flower waste).