Go for a green Ganesha Chaturthi this year

08 September, 2012

The ten-day great religious festival of Ganesha Chaturthi is round the corner, and will be celebrated from September 19 this year. Also called Ganesha Utsava or Vinayaka Chaturthi, it is the birthday of Lord Ganesha.

ALONG WITH the religious fervor to celebrate the festival of Ganesha Chaturthi, there is need to minimize environmental damage during the festival by promoting eco-friendly practices.

It is heartening to know that to make the festival environment-friendly, many devotee groups are planning to make a green festival. In Surat city of Gujrat, it has been resolved that this year it will be a totally green Ganesha Utsava.

In Surat over twenty thousand Ganesha idols are displayed every year. This year all the pandalas have decided that no idol will be made of Plaster of Paris. It has been decided by the Surat Ganesha Utsava Mandala that during the ten-day festival, 25,000 trees will also be planted to make the city greener.

We need to do the following while celebrating the festival.

-Promoting the use of unpainted clay idols of Lord Ganesha

-Using idols of small size.

-Using the natural dyes for painting the idols

-Ensuring the proper immersion of idols and disposal of other material used during the festival.

-Promoting group singing of devotional songs rather than loud playing of CDs in temples and at Pandalas.

-Encouraging cooperation rather than competition among various Pandalas.

-Not falling prey to market promoted gimmicks of loud decorations of Pandalas.

Since Lord Ganesha stands for wisdom, it is essentials for the devotees to revisit the meaning and essence of wisdom on the occasion of Ganesha Chaturthi by stopping environmental degradation.