Eco-ganesha 2012: Get ready for a green festivity

A look at Santa Cruz resident, Yogesh Vaidya’s installations to house Lord Ganesh, popularly termed as makhars in the local lingo, hints at an ornate yet an eco-friendly Ganesh Chaturthi.
“I have switched to makhars made of recycled paper for the past five years as thermocol is non-biodegradable,” said the ex-merchant navy officer Yogesh Vaidya.

Vaidya travelled all the way upto Virar to pick  his makhar from Vilas Murudkar, an art teacher who specialises in making antiquated eco-friendly makhars.

“There are very few artists in the city who make eco-friendly makhars. A few work out of workshops in Lalbaug, however Murudkar’s work is one of it’s kind,” said Vaidya.
Murudkar’s creations are made of newspapers and rice husk fibres. “Newspaper is torn into tiny pieces and soaked overnight. It is later rolled into a dough with mixing agents, set into earthen moulds and left to dry in sun. The makhars are finished by hand painting them,” explains Murudkar.

A graduate of JJ School of Art, Murudkar began making eco-friendly makhars, a year back after ex- mayor Shubha Raul refused to inaugurate his exhibition of thermocol installations. Priced at Rs2,500, these makhars can house two-feet idols. He has made lesser pieces this year as he rues that the public response to eco-friendly makhars is poor, last year he sold only 30 of 70 makhars he made. Murudkar however feels that with rising levels of air and soil pollution in Mumbai, the civic body needs to ban thermocol and plastic decorations in the market.

Environmental experts say that Styrofoam component in thermocol causes disposal problems and advises the masses to switch to eco-friendly decorations. Thermocol lingers in the ecosystem for more than 200 years, spreading toxins in the soil and render it infertile. Thermocol installations easily catch fire, which releases carcinogenic dioxins, that cause hormonal imbalances in people,” said environmentalist Rishi Aggarwal.