Ganesh Chaturthi 2023: How these Mumbaikars are using millets, chocolates, paper and books to make the idol

Around 13 years ago, when Mumbai-based artist Rintu Kalyani Rathod was walking along Juhu beach in Mumbai after Ganeshotsav, she was disappointed to see how the shore had washed up pieces of the POP idols, and that made her very sad. The 52-year-old shares, "I am a big Bappa devotee and stay close to Juhu beach and go there for my morning walks. If you go there a few days after visarjan, there are some heart-wrenching scenes. Now things are changing but 13 years ago, I thought to myself ‘what is this kind of devotion?'" Rathod saw broken hands and pieces of Ganpati Idols lying around and people walking over them. "I thought ‘this is very wrong'. So, I decided to do everything inside the house - no air, water or noise pollution."

Every year, Indians all over the world celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi during this time of the year as they welcome the elephant-headed God into their homes. This year, the 10-day festival will commence on September 19. Every Mumbaikar knows how it is one of the most-loved festivals in the city, as every street comes alive with festivities that include people coming together, and even enjoying delicious food during this time of the year. Over the years, as people have immersed the idols, as Rathod pointed out, there has been a shift in the way people adopt eco-friendly practices to celebrate the festival, and she made that shift a little over 10 years ago.

Making Bappa with chocolate
After her experience at the beach, she decided to make the idols for her home, out of food items.

She explains, "When I first started in 2011, I made a Ganpati with sugar and almond paste, where you have to immerse your idol in milk, and it turns into an almond milkshake. So, then I thought, ‘why not make the idol with chocolate?'" Today, the city-based trained commercial designer and artist, is known for her chocolate Ganpatis across the city. These are not only made from milk chocolate but also made with dark and white chocolate respectively.

While she uses chocolate as her medium, being an artist, it has not stopped her from experimenting with other materials over the years. "In 2018, I made a Kheer Ganpati, so when you immerse the idol, it turns into kheer. During Covid, I innovated and made a haldi milk Ganpati, with kadha masala. I also make a panchamrut Ganpati, which is inspired by a temple in Tamil Nadu, for which I use their recipe. So, when you immerse the idol, it turns into panchamrut." Apart from these, Rathod has also made an idol out of rose milk.

This year is going to be no different as Rathod started making her idol last Friday night, after completing 60 orders from people who absolutely love her chocolate idols; she had to stop taking the orders one month ago because she makes all of them by hand, with the help of moulds. The Mumbaikar explains, "Last year, there was Panchmukhi Ganpati, which is a five-headed Ganesh idol, that is a combination of all my previous Ganpatis. Since this year is the ‘Year of Millets', I am making a three-feet chocolate and millet Ganpati for which I am using jaggery instead of sugar. This is like your protein shake that people drink, but this is the Indian version of it."

The Mumbaikar doesn't stop there but takes it a step further. While taking the eco-friendly route is just the first part, the Santacruz resident asks, "You are celebrating the festival the way it should be done. That is just one part, the second is that you have celebrated the festival but what about after the festival?"Believing in helping underprivileged children, every year, Rathod visits different orphanages and distributes the food among them, as her friends and family also indulge in the food. "You are giving meaning to all those things. I believe God is happier when you make children happy," she adds.

Using paper and books
Elsewhere in Mumbai, Sujata Das has also been busy making her own Ganpati idols for the last seven years with the help of shadu clay (normal soil) to make her idols. She explains,"Along with the idol, I make the decorations with flowers or paper and keep it in my home for Ganesh Chaturthi. Every year, I try to change the theme and make something new, so this year, I am still contemplating the theme."

Like many others in the city, Das decided to make the switch a little more than half a decade ago not only to celebrate an eco-friendly Ganpati but also something much bigger than that because she believes it is her duty. It is simply because she wanted to teach her children about how they can celebrate the festival in an eco-friendly way at home. "Apart from making the idol, they also got a sense of belonging, and also learned about how they can save the environment. They were very small at that time and immediately loved the concept and started helping from then."

Having made seven Ganpatis over the years, Das distinctly remembers her first Ganpati idol, which was made from clay and was decorated with multiple paper fans to give it a unique but yet simplistic appeal. What started out a little over seven years ago to inspire the future generation that "small is beautiful '', has now become a family activity every Ganesh Chaturthi as Das and her children sit together and make the idol. "Over the years, they have shared different concepts and ideas that we can use to make the idol. We even make the paper cuttings together," she adds.

After they immerse the idol, she puts the water for her plants, and considers it as a blessing for her plants. Along with papier mache, she also adds natural plants around the idol during Ganeshotsav, not only making the whole experience completely natural but more importantly, very fulfilling.

While she has extensively worked with paper to make the decorations for the pandal, she has also made it out of books as Lord Ganesha is known as the ‘God of Wisdom', and it would only be fitting for him to be surrounded by colourful books during this time of the year. As she mulls over her theme for this year, she is very excited to come together with her children to make another idol to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi.