IE : Featherweight Ganpati : Aug 20, 2007
NITYA KAUSHIK
N a small but adequate workshop in Bandra, Sandhya Jayakar and volunteers of the Aniruddha Up asana Trust are busy making Ganpati idols with paper pulp. Easy to craft, cheap, and above all non-polluting, this group believes papier-mâché is the thing of the future.
“Every year, after Ganesh Visarjan, pollution level in the city’s sea water soars. Idols made of plaster of Paris (PoP) or clay, lime and cement are not just hard to dissolve but also contain toxic substances that harm water bodies. It was all these aspects that had us toying with the idea of making biodegradable Ganpati idols,” says Jayakar.
Starting off small in 2003, the group initially began crafting toys and props from old newspapers. “We used to collect raddhi paper and make fruit, vegeta bles and animal figures and donate them to village schools. The children there who didn’t have much access to expensive toys used to love it.”
By 2005, Jayakar and her friends were making modest one-ft sized Ganpati with newspaper. “Our first experiment was quite successful and we, as well as our extended families, started bringing home papier mâché Ganpatis ever since,” she says.
The group, that is making an attempt to go commercial with their environment friendly venture, opine that papier mâché Ganpatis look exactly like its PoP counterpart – complete with bio-degradable paints. Jayakar says, “Even the usual chemical colours used to paint idols contain toxins like mercury, lead, and cadmium. These are very harmful to the marine as well as human health. We therefore use Pidilite vegetable paint, that are made of vegetables and plants and don’t leave toxic residues.”
Making papier mâché models are very easy, and according to Jayakar, can also be done at home by any amateur enthusiast. “All that it needs is old paper, water and arrowroot or wheatflour glue – and whoever interested can make these Ganpatis or any other idols at home,” she says.
Indeed, the craft can be accomplished in five simple steps: 1. Cut or tear paper into thin strips of 1″x1″, 2.
Soak it in water till soft and grind it into a pulp, 3. Dry pulp, 4. Add arrowroot glue or glue made of wheat flour and water to the dried pulp and knead to a dough, 5. Now all you have to do is stuff the pulp in moulds and dry.
Jayakar adds that besides being safe for the ecology, the idols are so light weight that it takes only three people to lift a 12 feet idol.
“Moreover, these idols are so cheap because they are made out of natural materials very easy to obtain. Currently, we have priced a one-feet idol at Rs125, four ft idol at Rs 600 and 12 ft idol at less than Rs 1,000.”
With awareness spreading about the environmental repercussions of pollution, Jayakar says, people are already showing interest in buying these products. “This year, we have already received over 2,000 orders from Mumbai itself. Plus, our Ganpatis are also catching up in other parts of Maharashtra, especially Ratnagiri. But we are sure, we have a long way to go too,” she smiles, adding that she hopes to see sales escalate and pollution plummet in the coming years.
Publication : IE; Section: Real Page; Pg : 3; Date : 20/8/07
URL : http://70.86.150.130/indianexpress/ArticleText.aspx?article=20_08_2007_523_001