Vinayaka Chaturthi, globally known as Ganesh Chaturthi, is a festival Hinduism marking the birthday of beloved Lord Ganesha. The Aumkara, known as Ekadanta, Gajanana, Umaputra, is the god of enlightenment and prosperity.
The festival begins with the Bhadrapada Month (4th day) between August and September of the Gregorian calendar and goes on for 10 days. On the 10th day, i.e. the Anant Chaturdashi immersion of the idol takes place on a water body, river, or sea that signifies the removal of obstacles and blessed future ahead for the human race.
The pollution caused due to this immersion is too much to handle as the idols are mostly made of POP, i.e. the Plaster of Paris. This contains magnesium, phosphorus, gypsum, and sulphur, which take many months to dissolve in water, poisoning the living creatures in the sea, river, lakes, and ponds.
Founder of Tree Ganesha Concept
Widespread campaigns are encouraging eco-friendly Ganesh idols. One such talented and skillful artist from Worli (Mumbai), Dattadri Kothur, set the ‘Tree Ganesh’ in 2015. The idea was to grow a tree post immersion to believe that the Lord exists as the tree.
The artist and his 15 member team have made thousands of these idols, which are gaining global popularity and appreciation. The devotees were so impressed with the art that they flew down to Mumbai from Dubai to personally take Lord Ganesha to their homes during Ganesh Chaturthi.
Tree Ganesha Concept
The alluring idol is made of ladyfinger seeds, natural colour, organic fertilizer, and red soil. The apprehensive idea behind this was to eliminate pollution caused due to POP. These idols take a lot of time to be prepared and require prior orders. During the year 2016, around 350 of these idols were sold, followed by more than 1000 idols in 2017. The public much appreciated the idea that over 700 to 1000 prior bookings were made for the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
Why Choose Tree Ganesh
- The idols range from 12 inches to 20 inches Ganpati, with custom modifications such as golden glitters, idol decoration, and packaging style.
- Celebrities like Hritik Roshan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Jacky Shroff, Dia Mirza, and Richa Chadda have welcomed these eco-friendly Ganesha.
- The immersed soil is used to grow trees, which serves nature in two ways, First to avoid water pollution second, the air is purified due to more greenery.
- The venture has its website for online orders in Mumbai with a pretty moderate price range at www.treeganesha.com.
- They ship across different places in Maharashtra, Surat, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, and Pune.
- The Tree Ganesha has been appreciated and popularized on TV reality shows like ‘Sangeet Samrat’.
Awards and Achievements:
- AAI Olive Crown Award in 2016 for ‘Young Green Art Director of the Year’.
- DNA Eco-Ganesha Award
- Lokmatt Price and Loksatta Award in 2015.
Conclusion
Eco-friendly Ganesha’s are organic and safeguards human health, while POP idols are light-weighted and painted with harmful colours. Eco-friendly Murti’s are heavy and natural, keeping safe the environment and pleasing the Lord.
