Ganesh Chaturthi special: 5 things one must keep in mind

Check out eco-friendly ways to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi!

Image courtesy: Thinkstock

New Delhi: The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi that marks the birthday of the elephant-headed god- Ganesha is around the clock and this year it will fall on August 25.

It is celebrated with great zeal in whole of India, especially in the state of Maharashtra!

With just nine days left for Vināyaka Chaturthi, here we bring certain things that one must keep in mind while celebrating this ten-day long festival:

Use eco-friendly idols:

Initially, the idols used to be made up of earth from river banks that symbolises the law of creation and dissolution into the Earth. But, with the advent of Plaster of Paris (POP), it has become much easier to make idols. However, it is extremely harmful to the flora and fauna when these idols made up of pop's are immersed into water bodies as they release excessive chemicals.

To avoid this water pollution, one can easily opt for eco-friendly clay idols and other alternatives like to paint the idol using vegetable dyes instead of synthetic colours.

Use recyclable products for puja:

God never asked humans to please them with superficial decoration and stuff, especially not at the cost of disturbing the environment. Hence, avoid usages of artificial decorations like ribbons, thermacol, and other such commodities which can contribute to harming the waterbodies.

Rather, simply go for natural flowers, fruits, coconut, mango leaves, tulsi and other such recyclable commodities for worship.

Use recyclable commodities while serving prasad:

Avoid using disposable plastic plates and glasses to serve prasad as these are often seen lying on roads and outside waterbodies after the festival are over and only contributes to disrupting the environment. Instead, go for recyclable products like banana leaves, donnais, etc to serve prasad.

Avoid lightning crackers:

Lightning crackers are not the only way to express happiness or please God. Yet, if you want to then kindly avoid burning crackers in a moving procession and try to do it in an open and wider space so that the kids remain safe

Do the Visarjan right:

Instead of going to the same lake or nearby water body in bulk, try to do the visarjan in a bucket of water which will help reduce some amount of water pollution caused to the same water body.

Else, try to opt for a clay idol against pop ones if you are being part of a grand visarjan celebrations.

Remember, no festival can be celebrated at the cost of disturbing the environment. After all, God exists in nature!