How Mumbaikars are celebrating Ganpati in the time of COVID-19

A family performing Ganpati Puja at home. Picture: iStock

At a time when world seems to be suffering due to the consequences of man's greed, a service to the environment is no less than a service to God.

While devotees were inclining toward environment friendly idols for quite some time now; this year Mumbai has seen a stark rise in eco-friendly Ganesha idols. That's mainly because social distancing is a must and going out to buy idols does not seem prudent.

Therefore, to keep the festive spirit alive, people started fashioning Ganesha idols with various eco-friendly products at home. Dry fruits, seeds, chocolates, etc. are being used to create idols need not be immersed in water.

An art director from Dadar, Sumit Patil, fashioned a Ganpati idol from used quilts. The HT quotes him saying, "We usually forget about the unused stuff at home that can be utilized in a creative manner...I just took a month to convert my idea into reality."

A professor from Ville Parle, Pranali Sahasrabudhe, said, ""I have been installing eco-friendly Ganpati at home for four years now, but this is the first time that I have not used any decoration material that needed to be bought. So much so that all my flowers are made from papers available at home so that I don't have to enter a market place to buy them. Moreover, I have even asked my extended family to remain at home and have assured them to video call during the aarti."

Also read: Ganesh Chaturthi 2020: 8 Ultimate Home Decoration Ideas

Besides, social media is flooded with photos and videos of home-made, eco-friendly Ganpati idols. It's true that Ganpati Utsav is nothing like the other years this time but it is heart-warming to see how the devoted act of making idols can bring families together and make them happy during their favorite festival.

Keeping the spirit of Ganesh Chaturthi alive is what Mumbaikars are known to do, however, it is not be forgotten that social distancing and practicing good public health is of utmost importance this year.

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