Bombay's Idols

" A God who let us prove his existence would be an idol."

~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Tomorrow is Ganesh Chaturthi in India. The festival is celebrated in large parts of India, but it has its roots in Maharashtra where it is celebrated with most zest. People bring the Ganesh idols home where they offer prayers and perform aartis to ask for protection for the rest of the year from their beloved lord, Vighnaharta. It is said to be Bombay's favourite festival and for the ten or so days for which the festival lasts, the Ganesh idols that are part of the community mandals are a treat to watch with many families taking time out to visit the nearby pandals to catch the various idols in their full grandeur. The community Ganesh festival was initiated as a festival of the masses by Lokmanya Tilak at the height of India's freedom struggle to bring the local community together as part of his vision for a united and integrated India. The concept of community idols that everyone can visit has lasted for over a hundred years now, with the number of such community Ganesh idols increasing every year. But the festival has lost its sheen over the years and has come under the scanner from many quarters, especially environmentalists and the law.

The idols, thousands of them, are immersed in water bodies, with hundreds of them being immersed in the Arabian Sea along Bombay's various beaches on the last day of the festival. Earlier when the festival was more about development of community consciousness and less about pomp and 'my idol beats yours', the idols were made of mud and clay and painted with natural colours and their immersion in the Sea, though damaged the environment to an extent, did not actually pollute as such and also the number of immersions were less. These days the idols are made of Plaster of Paris which is non-biodegradable and are also painted with synthetic oil paints to make them look snazzy. The craftsmanship of the sculptors and the painters is really marvellous and many of the idols are breathtaking. But when they are immersed in the Sea, the Plaster of Paris does not assimilate with the mud on the sea bed and also the synthetic paints do not dissolve in water and release toxic chemicals that severely damage the environment along the coasts. And we are talking tons of Plaster of Paris! The beaches look a horrible place the morning after and one can find many dead fish washed up the beach. The immersions spell murder for the aquatic life along the coast. Already Bombay's coastal waters are quite polluted as the sewage water released into them is not treated as per international standards though recent reports suggest that the quality of sea water has improved over the last few years and plans are also in place for the Mumbai Sewage Disposal Project that seeks to treat the water released into the sea effectively.

Another dark side of the festival is the hooliganism by members of the mandals who visit nearby households for 'vargani' or contribution towards the expenses of hosting the idol for the period of the festival. Those who do not pay a certain amount which they seek are many a times abused and sometimes the mandal members also resort to extortion and plunder when someone tries to shoo them away. The contributions should be strictly on a voluntary basis and such acts of violence in the name of celebration should be clipped immediately by cutting these mandals to size. The mandals are also known to steal electricity from the nearby housing colonies to light the pandals.

The festival can certainly be made more environment friendly and the mandals law abiding. The maximum size of the idols should be limited and environment friendly materials and colours should be encouraged.

Have a safe and fun-filled Ganesh festival!

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