THE ALMIGHTY ARRIVES...

Lord ganesha-Son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.The leader of all the ganas(classes of beings) and foremost of all gods.Ganesha is one of the most worshipped Hindu dieties.He was created by his mother parvati using earth which she moulded into the shape of a boy.Ganesha was an ordinary human until Lord Shiva chopped of his head when Ganesha was guarding Parvati.Parvati ordered Shiva to bring back ganesha to life,Lord Shiva understood his mistake and attached the head of an elephant to the body of Ganesha and asked all the Gods bless him and made him the leader of all ganas (thus,the name 'gan'pati). The 11 days right from Ganesh chaturthi to Anant chaturdashi are filled with positivity,happiness and chaos.Right from the day when ganpati enters in our houses and in many pandals , to the day where the murtis are immersed in water ,Indian culture is showcased in it's best form.Creativity of pandals is bloomed with various themes and their creative way of inviting devotees to visit their creation.With nuclear family system prevailing in the society ,ganpati brings the long forgotten family members closer and brings harmony.The aartis and the bhajans evoke the feeling of devotion which is rarely seen now-a-days. Environment is not considered while welcoming our ganpati bappa.The Ganesha idols made up of Plaster of Paris are immersed in sea ,thus disturbing the balance of ecosystem.The view on the beaches just after one day of immersion is disheartening.The high intensity sound systems in visrajan trouble the senior citizens and small children.Celebration takes a destructing turn when the environment is not considered and enjoyment is the only motto.

The Almighty is going to take all the sorrows with him and spread happiness all around.It's our responsibility to make sure that we are using the most eco-friendly ways for our celebration.Man-made pools can be the alternatives for immersion of idols rather than sea-water.Instead of using POP idols we can use idols made out of clay.They are expensive than the POP models but they dissolve quickly in sea water and do not harm the environment in any way.This time we should focus on how eco-friendly an Idol is,rather than the size of the idols.Let's celebrate the greatness of our Bappa in an eco-friendly way and bless the environment that keeps us alive . Ganpati bappa morya!!!!!