Despite Ganesha being the main festival of North India and the city of Bengaluru being a part of South India as the auspicious occasion of the 10 days Ganpati is coming closer the garden city ‘Bengaluru’ is decked up with the colourful statuettes of Lord Ganesh and Maa Parvathi. As people have become more concerned about the environmental aspects, the focus has shifted from plaster of Paris (PoP) idols to eco-friendly ones in the last couple of years. Bring earthy charm to the house, decorating clay Ganesha with leaves and colourful flowers makes the festival more vibrant and homely.
With this concept, a clan of such artists has taken center stage who design innovative clay statues of the almighty with biodegradability and free from harmful chemicals. The idols are on a slightly higher price band as compared to the traditional Ganesha PoP idols but the new concept Ganpati idols look appealing yet a blend of clay with Bombay soil is used to craft such eco-friendly models.
Another such kind is the ‘Tree Ganpati’ idols which have become famous. After immersion, these idols can be planted in the soil and are designed with organic fertilizers, red soil, natural colours, with seeds. These idols immerse easily and do not pollute the water bodies.
In this row, crafted with newspapers or cardboard ‘Paper Ganpati’ idols that remain lightly weighted and eco-friendly, are becoming the choice of many. Ganesha idols mixed with paddy waste and clay imported from Kolkata are also getting popular. An eco-friendly Ganapati idol maker informed me that ranging from a foot to 18 feet in height with a price band of 5k to 2 Lakh 50k the eco-friendly Ganesha are getting popular and embraced by people. Other Ganesh Idol vendor said that as compared to the previous year, this year there is a hike in the sale of green clay Ganesha.
Larger ones still continue to be made with the traditional concept of PoP as it allows more freedom of creativity, colouring, and detailing.