Rustic Wood Forest - Eco friendly Lord Ganesha 2014

I am a design professional, decorating the Lord of fortune (Ganesha) aesthetically for last 4 years at my house. I always manage to use eco-friendly materials for my decoration which means no thermocol/plastic or any other harmful materials which spoils the environment. Ganesh mandals highlighting social issues through the decorations is my priority, which is protection of the environment. Therefore I always use affordable, easy to use/reuse materials which are convenient to recycle.

I make my designs from waste materials and make the best out of them. i.e straws, bangles, glass bottles, etc.

I also make sure that the colors used for painting the idol are organic and not chemical.

This year my theme is Rustic Wood Forest.

I collected natural tree branches broken or fallen from the tress. I made sure I do not cut them and harm Mother Nature. I also kept in mind that I find similar kind of twigs and branches of same size and shape to maintain the harmony of the overall decoration. My main aim was to keep everything natural and rustic (plain, simple). Hence I washed them rigorously at home with fast jet showers to get rid of bacteria and dirt. This was done keeping in mind that these branches are grown and exposed to natural environment – in harsh sun, heavy rains or stormy winds. So they are prone to attract insects and bacteria. Therefore, this process was done to maintain the purity, cleanliness and hygiene as they were to be placed near the Lord.

This also helps us believe in purity of mind, body and soul.

Then it was time to decorate and arrange these branches to make a forest - I painted them partially with bright acrylic colours – yellow, blue, pink and copper. To make them pretty and glamorous, I adorned them with artificial flowers and creepers, glittery lights and golden nets. I took help of iron rods to hang the branches with a jute rope on them. I also hanged earthen pots (matkis) and added peacock feathers in the backdrop and colourful birds sitting on the branches with their nest, and eggs made out of rice flour.

The visarjan is done at Juhu beach and the idol is taken in the four wheeler, and not with band-baaja or truck to avoid the noise pollution and traffic.

All these things I need to keep in mind in order to keep the environment eco- friendly, pure and clean.

My motive for being published is let people and designers know that fresh, innovative and simple ideas work very well made out of eco-friendly or waste materials, which looks aesthetically appealing and glamorous and at the same time subtle and elegant.