This ganesha chaturthi, make your own ganesha idol at the Potters festival organised by the Young environmentalists Programme. take home eco-friendly Ganesha idols from clay obtained from the Mithi River and the Powai lake

With an aim to discourage the use of Plaster of Paris (POP) idols and bring to light the pollution caused during the Ganesha Chaturthi festival, the Young Environmentalists Programme Trust has brought together many potters to teach people how to be creative with mud and clay. They have organised a one-day workshop where Elsie Gabriel, founder of Young Environmentalists Trust along with 11 potters will teach people to make eco-friendly Ganesha idols using mud and clay from the Mithi River and Powai Lake.


Potter Khushboo Pandit with a Ganesha

"The Potters Festival is an attempt to bring back the focus to basic pottery," says Gabriel. "Ancient India was a very eco-friendly nation. People ate on banana leaves, used earthen pots for storing water. We are giving people an opportunity to interact with potters to understand that so much can be done with mud and clay. We have to stop aping the West and go back to our roots," adds Gabriel emphatically.

With an emphasis on the environment, participants of the workshop will not only make the idols with eco-friendly material but also paint it with Haldi, Kumkum, Geru and Multani Mitti. The potters will help them learn the nuances of making an idol. "It is also important to bring the focus on potters, who have, for ages, been working with clay and mud," says Gabriel.

According to Gabriel one need not be an artist to make a Ganesha idol. The sentiment is important and so is the environment. Participants will also be told the ill-effects of using POP, artificial colours and how to make eco-friendly immersions.