Adopting green traditions to worship the god of wisdom

Keri: Eco-friendly Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations may have evolved over the years, but some families in various parts of the state ensure that they keep their age-old green traditions alive.At Vaze, Shiroda, the Vaidya Naik family has been worshipping wooden idols of Lord Ganesh for more than four decades. These idols are given a fresh coat of paint each year and after a symbolic immersion, they are preserved for the following year’s celebration, said a socio-cultural observer, Rajendra Phadte.Approximately 20km away, at Usgao, the Prabhu and Desai families come together to mark the festival at a shrine at Gaonkarwada for five days. Local resident Tanaji Shet has traditionally provided them with an idol of Lord Ganesh made entirely of papier mache. “Each year, we joyfully and unitedly worship a papier mache idol of Lord Ganesh, and we seek to not only continue the tradition but also consolidate the spirit of fraternity that we have inherited from our ancestors,” Tulsidas Prabhu, a member of the Prabhu clan, said.While these practices have been handed down from generation to generation, there are a section of devotee that have adopted eco-conscious choices of worship in recent years. Shubhada Chari is one of them. This resident of Keri said that ahead of this Chaturthi, she has painted a clay idol of Lord Ganesh with natural colours obtained from turmeric, neem leaves and clay. “I learned that the colours used for painting the idols are mostly synthetic-based petroleum dyes and pollute water bodies after visarjan,” she said.Suryakant Gaonkar from Bhuipal, Sattari, concurs. He said he is ready to provide natural dyes for painting idols and said govt should take immediate steps to discourage the use of synthetic colours.These families are part of a growing section of devotees that hope to curb water, air and noise pollution by worshipping the god of wisdom in eco-friendly ways.