The grand ten-day festive carnival has begun. Considered as the remover of all obstacles, Lord Vinayaka is probably one of the most loved and revered of all, regardless of individual beliefs and customs.
Colourful
Splashed in myriad hues, His mighty presence can be felt everywhere. Ganesha gets jazzier and taller with each passing year, eco-friendly clay idols have made their way into the joyous festive celebrations this year. Most of the shopping malls in the city are promoting the message of an eco-friendly avatar of Ganesha to reduce the pollution resulting from the large-scale immersion of idols.
To promote the use of eco-friendly idols, CMR has installed huge idols of Ganesha made of red sand from Kolkata at its shopping malls in the city. The statue stands tall at 30 feet at CMR Central while at the CMR Shopping Mall at Jagadamba Junction it is 28 feet high and at its Gajuwaka brancj, the idol is 26 feet tall. These idols are made of eco-friendly materials specially brought from Kolkata. The dexterous fingers of the artistes from Bengal and their years of experience transform the idols into a majestic appearance draped in moulds of modest earthy clay. Ganesha is depicted in varying sizes and in myriad moods, dancing, playing on musical instruments, meditating or reclining. Our idea is to promote eco-friendly way of worshipping Lord Ganesha. These idols will be dissolved on the spot and they do not pollute the waters like the POP idols. Even the colours used are vegetable dyes. Based on similar principles, a 76-feet high eco-friendly Ganesha idol is being made at Gajuwaka, defying the common belief that big idols cannot be made of clay.
Schools and colleges are doing their bit to encourage the use of the clay idols. Clay-modeling workshops are being conducted at various schools in the city to pass the message of an environment-friendly celebration.
To promote the use of eco-friendly idols, innovative traders have come up with customer-friendly offers. Walk in to buy sweets and you will find yourself receiving a terracotta Ganesha idol free of cost.
