Clean Chennai inspires kolu theme

Banumathi S., a 72-year-old resident of Kodambakkam plans to create awareness on waste management through her kolu

Banumathi S. makes a themed kolu every year. This year, she is using The Hindu’s Clean Chennai campaign for reference. Photo: S. S. Kumar

As enthusiastic participants hurled questions at the experts at the CleanChennai@Home workshop in Nungambakkam on Sunday, a septuagenarian sat on the sidelines, waiting her turn. Clad in an orange sari, she shyly took the microphone and began to speak.

“Every Navaratri, my kolu is based on an issue that plagues Chennai. This year, The Hindu ’s Clean Chennai campaign is the theme,” she said, as the audience broke into applause.

Banumathi S. is a former education consultant who is passionate about

kolu . The 72-year-old mother of three begins preparing for the following year’s

kolu as soon as Navaratri ends. To this end, she has been collecting clippings of every story on garbage carried in

The Hindu for almost a year now.

“I had already planned to make a waste management-themed

kolu . When the My Chennai My Right campaign was launched, it gave me more ideas to add – I’m making a miniature composter as well,” Mrs. Banumathi said, speaking to The Hindu after the workshop.

She also said that the campaign had prompted her to begin composting again. “When we were in an independent house, we had a compost pit in the garden. After moving to an apartment, I did not continue the practice. Now I have started using a composter. Since it is just my son and me in the house, we keep our inorganic waste generation to a minimum,” she said.

A resident of Kodambakkam, Mrs. Banumathi said that many who come to see the

kolu in her house ask her about the issue she portrays and how to tackle it. “It is my way of creating awareness in the community,” she said.

Mrs. Banumathi has been creating themed kolus for over a decade now: earlier themes include solar power and window gardens. However, she is quite proprietary about her kolu . “I’m already wondering if it was good idea to tell people that this is my theme.

I have decided what I am going to display, and several of the exhibits are ready, but I don’t want to share it all in case someone decides to copy it. I want mine to be unique,” she said.

Pdfs of presentations made at Clean Chennai @ Home workshops in Adyar (Sep 7) and Nungambakkam (Sep 8)

>Composting by Navneeth Raghavan

>Garbage segregation by Navneeth Raghavan

>Managing garbage effectively by Srinivas Krishnaswamy & Preethi Sukumaran

Here is a quick guide to start composting and recycling: >http://thne.ws/cc-fridgesheet

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