Message Courtesy: Rotary e-Club of Mumbai Indians (Dist.: 3140)

 Maintaining our legacy and heritage is very important to distinguish and maintain our cultural identity. However with time and circumstance, ways of living our culture must also adapt in tune with the times. With the growing magnitude of celebrations and revelry, it is highly pertinent to take into account the impact on current and futuristic resources. As is said, we have not inherited nature from our ancestors but have borrowed it from our future generations.

Ganesh Festival is on the anvil for 2015. While one must celebrate that with fervour, it will increase the festivities multi-fold, if Mother Nature is taken along. The good news is that, it does not take too much to be Eco-Friendly, only a little understanding and will.

Can we pledge to be eco-friendlier this year in our celebrations? Here are few ways of accomplishing them, the TEN-PATHWAYS of ECO-FRIENDLY CELEBRATIONS.

 AVOID buying Plaster of Paris (POP) Idols.

Use Biodegradable material so that after immersions (visarjan) it does not pollute water and surroundings. Natural products can be used to make the idol such as unbaked clay, coconut, paint with natural colours, etc.

 LIMIT Size and number of Ganesh Idols in your community:

Faith and Size of the idol has no connection. Rather than keeping the idol for exhibition, the rituals of the festival should be performed properly. Huge idols also consume more clay or POP for its making, adding more waste to environment. It is difficult for immersion also as it takes time for dissolving in water and sometimes it does not dissolve completely hurting people’s sentiments. You also save on traffic congestion and transportation hassles.

 SAVE Energy:

Switch on decorative lights during the “aarti” or “pooja” and evenings only when necessary. Replace traditional bulbs such as incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFL).Use energy efficient CFL tubes instead of bulbs to save electricity. Coloured papers can also be wrapped on bulbs to give more colours rather than buying expensive energy-inefficient bulbs.

 USE Natural colours for Rangoli:

Use natural biodegradable colours for making Rangoli such as turmeric, henna, and rice powder. Such colours do not pose a threat to human health and do not affect the environment also

 ECO- FRIENDLY Decoration:

Avoid non-degradable material like plastic and thermacol. These materials add more danger to our environment when dumped as garbage later. You can use instead paper flowers or natural flowers for decoration. Natural materials like cloth, wood and paper can be used to make dolls, puppets, and bells to decorate.

BAN Plastic:

Offerings, Prasad, fruits which are carried to pandals in plastic bags are thrown here and there as garbage, polluting the environment. Instead cloth bags can be encouraged which is very comfortable to carry, biodegradable and can be reused later. Paper cups can be used to distribute Prasad.
 

REFRAIN from Noise Pollution:

Avoid playing loud music which might create disturbance to others. Mridangam, Tabla and such low decibel sound instruments can be used instead. Loudspeakers can create problem to hospitals, old age homes, and educational institutes. Speakers and microphones should be played between 6am and 10pm and people should abide by the rules.
 

AVOID BURSTING firecrackers.

Firecrackers will also affect the hearing of small children as well as aged people of the community. There is no cultural ritual as such to burst crackers. Firecrackers emit fumes which are harmful to health. They pose a threat to patients and public health. By avoiding crackers, probably you also have contributed towards the cause of Child-Labour as the cracker industry is infamous for deploying child-labour.
 

USE Artificial immersion tank:

Use can use artificial tank or artificial immersion tank instead of natural water source like river, lake or pond. That will help conserve our water bodies. Better way still would be SYMBOLIC immersion. Instead of immersing Ganesh idol in a water body, it can be symbolically immersed at home. Some people use a metal or stone idol and symbolically immerse this in a bucket of water, or even carry it in procession to the sea, hold it under the water, and then bring it back home for the next year. A betel nut in place of the actual idol can be immersed in a bucket of water. Another way of immersion can be sprinkling a few drops of water on the idol and then wiping it off and keeping it for next year’s use.

 
BE A BRAND-AMBASSADOR:

Form a group or team for celebrating Eco Friendly Ganesh festival in your neighbourhood. Spread awareness by forming a group or a team in your community. Teach your younger generation and others the good effects of celebrating eco-friendly Ganesh Festival.

 
MESSAGE by:

ROTARY e-CLUB OF MUMBAI INDIANS

District: 3140

Secretary: Rtn. Priyesh Thakur

Contact: priyeshthakur04@gmail.com