Diwali 2024: Giant lantern in South Mumbai garden promotes sustainable celebrations

The lantern is made of 35,000 to 40,000 plastic water bottles

There is a green message in a bottle, or 35,000 bottles to be apt. The Cooperage Garden in South Mumbai is playing host to a very sizeable, sustainable kandeel (lantern) this Diwali. The Inner Wheel District 314, helmed by district chairman Prerana Raichur, collaborated with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) A ward to inaugurate an art installation that gives an eco-conscious twist to Diwali. The lantern was installed on Sunday (October 27) evening.

A gigantic kandeel is turning heads not just because of its size but the green Diwali message it conveys. The kandeel is made of 35,000 to 40,000 plastic water bottles, which have been repurposed for the artwork. Activist Bella Shah about the eye-popping installation said, "The idea was to put forth a two-pronged message mixing the earthy with the aesthetic. We all talk about going green and giving back to the Earth but do not quite know how to do so. The festival of lights is a timely opportunity for this inspiring initiative." Shah also pointed to the large number of people coming into the garden to see the lantern.

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Taking shape

Inner Wheel District 314 project chairman Mita Sheth said, "We are roughly 4,000 members. Bottles were collected from Ganpati pandals during the recent Navratri festival, weddings, and banquets. We concentrated on 200-ml Bisleri water bottles as we wanted uniformity. Once collected and stored at different locations, we started assembling the kandeel on the ground at the garden itself. The making stage evoked so much curiosity from visitors."

Colaba's Maria Goretti Chico said she was excited when she heard about such a novel project for a green Diwali, one that serves as inspiration and awareness for all. "To see something like ordinary, everyday plastic bottles transformed into something so beautiful brings recycling on the radar of people. Once it was lit, the feeling was unbelievable," Chico said.

Aware fare

Artist, designer, and curator-conceptualiser Minali Thakkar said, "This is about creating awareness and bringing about change. I have worked earlier with plastic bottles to create a mammoth Christmas tree. The waste actually becomes a medium for a message about sustainability, one that sticks in the mind and resonates more than perhaps a lecture."

The designer opined that the 'kandeel' is a shout out to tradition too. "At a time when so many of us tend to buy Chinese lights, etc., this is about going vocal for local, a kandeel highlights our culture. Diwali is a time when people usually deep clean their homes. This is stretching that philosophy to outside too; we need to deep clean our earth," she added. The lantern is expected to be in the garden for a month.