Ganesh festival: Spurt in number of Indians settled abroad ordering eco-friendly idols

To make the delivery easier, vendors have asked artists to make idols using more paper than clay. (Source: Express Photo/Javed Raja)

AHEAD of the annual Ganesh festival starting next month, vendors of Ganpati idols have said that they are witnessing an increased number of requests from customers abroad for eco-friendly idols. Orders have been received from more than 2,000 families, mostly in the Gulf countries, they claimed. Ganeshotsav is to be celebrated this year between September 13 and 23. While sale of Ganesh idols abroad has been popular for a few years, vendors say this is the first time that they are seeing a demand from countries such as UAE and Oman.

“Customers, Indians who have settled in these countries for work or studies, wish to continue the ritual at home. We have received at least 2,500 orders from the Gulf countries for making Ganesh idols of different sizes. While we have sent 1,500 Ganesh idols and will be sending the remaining idols by next week,” said Vikas Dubey of the Mumbai-based Nisargraj organisation.

To make the delivery easier, vendors have asked artists to make idols using more paper than clay. “We wanted to ensure that these idols are eco-friendly. So, we have used paper in place of Plaster of Paris (POP) and a little amount of the traditional shaadu clay so that the authenticity of the festival remains. We have also used non-acrylic colours,” Dubey added. More than 100 Ganesh idol artists from Pen and Ratnagiri in Konkan have worked on these customised orders. Another organisation called My OmNamo is selling a kit of items that are required for ‘Ganesh puja’ to attract more customers including many abroad. “We have now reached out to 1,800 self help group ladies who make these handmade ingredients needed for this pious puja kit. These women make the phulwat, kumkum, ashtagandha which are part of the kit. We already have 250 families in UAE who have pre-ordered our ‘Sampoorna Ganesh Puja Kit’, or complete Ganesh Puja Samagri Kit this festive season,” said Makarand Patil, founder of My OmNamo.

“Convenience is the major factor for us as a mandal. We could book both shaadu murti for puja and papermache murti for the display from the app,” said Prachi Sawant, Maharshtra Mandal, Dubai.