Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff.com visits Rrachna Thakur's eco-friendly Ganpati celebration.
In 2010, we brought Lord Ganesha home for the first time.
We had a flower arch for the idol which was simple and sweet; it was something that I had seen in my cousin's house while growing up.
As we come from the fashion background, we have access to a lot of fabrics and nets.
For our first Ganpati, we used a lot of blues and pinks to create a wave-like effect. We also draped the net as part of the decorations.
Our 13th anniversary
I'm very fond of flowers, so they are always a big part of our Ganpati theme.
This year our Ganpati is sitting on a jasmine flower, so our theme is a garden. That is why you see plants all around. It's just green and happy.
Going eco-friendly
We have never been okay with thermocol and plastic, which why we used a lot of fabrics in our decor and backdrop.
Since the last couple of years, we send the fabric back to our shop where it can be reused because we don't want it wasted.
Last year, we used wisteria flowers which I ordered online; though they were made of plastic, they can be reused during functions like birthdays and festivals through the year
Though it might not be bio-degradable, we ensure we reuse the decor for years.
Decor
This year I started the prep on the long Independence Day weekend.
I got 12 strands of white and pink flowers each.
In the previous years, I used bangles that I don't wear any more as part of the decoration.
I have also used bells in the past to give it a mandir (temple) kind of feel.
The bird of paradise flowers I have use this year is from my chachi's (aunt's) house in Virar (part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region); they have a flower farm there where they are grown.
My mom doesn't like our idol to be enclosed, so this was what I could come up with to keep it open. The pots are encased in jute to make then look closer to nature.
I plan to give it away the pants to family members after the visarjan.
The idol is made from papier mache.
Visarjan
In 2019, the one-and-a-half visarjan date fell on a Tuesday (which is considered Lord Ganpati's day). So, that year, all the one-and-half day Ganpati visarjans took place on the second day.
Since then, every year, our visarjan happens on the second day. We immerse our Ganpati in a bucket at home and use that water for our plants. That way, our Ganpati always remains with us.
Prasad
Mom and I make suji ka halwa as the first prasad. On visarjan day, we made dal pakwan.
