Seed of an idea: this year, welcome a garden Ganesha

With people crafting idols that sprout into vegetables, Ganesha immersion has taken a green turn

ERODE, TAMIL NADU, 18/08/2017: Making of eco-friendly Vinayagar idol with seeds has picked up in Erode on August 18, 2017. Photo: M. Govarthan

In the not-so-far-future, people celebrating Vinayaka Chaturthi will have their own backyard immersion rituals. This will be a quiet affair, where they place their clay Ganesha idols inside a clay pot with water. The idol will sprout into greens or vegetables that can be harvested within the next one month or so.

This trend is picking up — spreading like wild fire, actually — with several people across the country making ‘seed Ganeshas’.

Jayasri Krishnan of D’Organica Garden Shoppee, that spreads awareness on terrace gardening in the city, offers Ganeshas that come with

mulai keerai seeds. “We offer a set that consists of a one-feet-tall clay idol, a clay flower pot, a packet of seeds, and manure,” says Jayasri.

“Instead of immersing the idol in the sea, people can do so at their balconies or gardens,” she adds. Jayasri came up with the idea last year and the response, she says, has been phenomenal. “I sold 250 idols in one day last year,” she says. She’s been getting calls from across India, asking if she can courier her sets.

In this photograph taken on August 2, 2016, Indian artisan Dattadri Kothur prepares eco-friendly clay idols of elephant headed Hindu God Lord Ganesha at the "Tree Ganesha" workshop in Mumbai. When Indian artist Dattadri Kothur saw the pollution caused by an annual Hindu tradition of immersing elaborately decorated idols of the elephant-headed god Ganesha in the sea, he decided to do something about it. Kothur's "Tree Ganesha" idols are made entirely out of organic materials that will disintegrate when they get wet, and are designed to be watered like a plant rather than immersed in the sea. / AFP PHOTO / INDRANIL MUKHERJEE / To go with India-Religion-Environment

The seed Ganeshas, according to Jayasri, are beneficial in many ways. “One, it avoids the pollution that colourful plaster of Paris idols cause to our waterbodies. Two, it gets people involved in growing their own food,” she says. “Within five days of sowing the seeds, they start to sprout and in 21 days, people can harvest the greens,” she says.

Greens, she explains, are among the most affected by pesticide use. “This way, we can easily grow organic greens right at home,” she adds. Priced at ₹280, the Ganesha idol and clay pot set, is available at her outlet in Perungudi.

Sevalaya has been making similar idols with the help of youngsters seeking job opportunities. Based in a village near Thiruninravur, Sevalaya has in fact sold out all its idols. Founder V Muralidharan says that their initiative doesn’t have a business motive, but is rather their bit for the environment.

Its idols have been made with clay mixed with vegetable seeds. “They will sprout within two to three days of being immersed in the flowerpot that we provide,” he explains.

Sangeetha Saravanan of Sangeeni’s Raise The Earth in Mandaveli has sourced idols from Karur to be sold in the city for ₹350 apiece. “We offer one-feet-tall idols with seeds embedded in them, as well as those that come with separate seed packets,” she says.

For details, call 9840028852, 9385907050 (D’Organica); 7358552372 (Sangeeni’s).