With a mission to do something different, several people across the country have been doing their bit to ensure a unique and eco-friendly Ganesh Chaturthi.
One Punbab-based baker, Harjinder Singh Kukreja, decided to make a Ganesh out of 65 kg chocolate that would be immersed in milk on visarjan day. That milk then would be distributed amongst underpriviliged children in Ludhiana.
Kukreja sought the help of Robin Hood Army, India, an NGO that collects food and distributes it amongst the poor.
This is the third year that Kukreja has made a chocolate-based Ganesha. This year, it took the team 10 days and 65 kg of chocolate to make the elephant-headed God.
According to an Economic Times report, a special edible colour was imported from Italy to mark the ornaments of the idol.
The idol roughly cost Rs 1 lakh, which included the cost of chocolate, colour and laobor.
Mumbai-based Rintu Rathod also did something similar to Kukreja. A Ganesha devotee, Rathod would get disturbed with the sight of broken idol pieces post visarjan day. “I’m a commercial designer and baker, and so, I was struck by the idea of making Ganpati idols with chocolate and immersing them in milk. I would then distribute the chocolate milk among underprivileged children,” Rintu recalls, adding that not only is the idol eco-friendly, with its ability to put a smile on children’s faces, it is humanity friendly as well.
For the past two years, she has also been taking workshops to teach others the art of making Ganpati idols with chocolate. Although Rintu has been making the figurines for the past seven years, it’s only in 2017 that she started taking orders for it. “Till last year, I was making them all by hand, and so I could only take 26 orders. This year, I have started using moulds, so I’m making 51 of them,” she says, adding that she has bigger plans for the festival in 2019.
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 "Rintu Rathod and Harjinder Singh Kukreja with their chocolate Ganeshas")
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