The novel concept of watering the Ganpati idol after the festival is over has been a trend-setting idea. The intention is to grow a tree, so as to believe that Lord Ganesh lives on. A Worli resident who experimented with the idea two years ago, is now followed by citizens across the country as well as abroad.
This year, Dattadri Kothur, who introduced 'Tree Ganesh', has made thousands of eco-friendly Ganpati idols. These idols will grow as trees after a few days of immersion.
"Since we cannot courier these delicate idols, devotees staying abroad have personally taken them to places like Dubai. Also, we have got customers from across the country. People from Gujarat, Delhi, Pune and Chennai are ordering in large quantity," said Kothur.
While Kothur sold around 350 idols last year, this year he has made over 1,000 idols. He has been getting calls for bookings since June 1. In fact, he has already received 600 bookings for next year's Ganpati.
The 'Tree Ganesh' idol is made up of red soil, organic fertiliser and lady finger seeds.
Speaking about his initiative on this eco-friendly Ganpati, Kothur said: "Two years ago, I experimented to see if it was a good idea. I thought such an initiative would help reduce the pollution level which is caused due to the use of Plaster of Paris (PoP). It seems to be working."
While Kothur and his team started making these idols one-and-a-half month ago, this year's bookings were closed in the beginning of July.
"Many a times people think of eco-friendly idols are easily available as the PoP idols and try to book at the last minute. But making of an eco-friendly idol takes time," said Kothur.
GIVING IT LIFE
- Rather than immersing the Tree Ganesh idol in a water body, devotees need to water it every day so that the idol starts melting in the mud pot and the seed germination process begins. About 350 such idols were sold last year
