The Idol, the Lake, and the Lesson

How Ganesh Chaturthi reminded me that circularity is rooted in our traditions

Editor’s Note: If you’ve been following I Will Circle Back, you’ll remember Sangeetha from our Jugaad Composting series. This time, she takes us into Mumbai during Ganesh Chaturthi — one of India’s biggest and most beloved festivals.

For those new to it: Ganesh Chaturthi celebrates the birth of Lord Ganesha, revered as the remover of obstacles and the god of new beginnings, wisdom, and prosperity. Families and neighbourhoods bring idols of Ganesha into their homes, worship him for a few days, and then immerse the idol in water (visarjan).

A statue of Lord Ganesha

As a Mumbaikar, one of my most cherished memories of growing up was celebrating Ganpati with my family and neighbours every year. The buzz, the energy, the electricity in the air—it’s imprinted in my mind from the time I was little. Every year, we would welcome a small idol of Lord Ganesha into our home.

My dad always had a story to share from his childhood in Kerala: there, they didn’t have the same visarjan hassle we did in Mumbai. They brought home Ganpatis made of clay, and when the time came, the idol would be immersed right in the family well. That was not an option for us in Mumbai for two reasons - we certainly didn’t have a well :) and in our quest for fancier idols, the mud statues had gradually been taken over by those made of Plaster of Paris.

And thus, a pure and nature-friendly festival celebration organically became inorganic, even plastic. The transition was so seamless—each year, everyone in the society boasting of an even cuter Ganesha—that it never struck me until recently what this meant for the environment. I would notice the lakes after visarjan: greener each year - not the sustainable kind!, algal blooms spreading, PoP sludge floating on the surface. If I had to go by the adage - Cleanliness is next to Godliness, the irony of that in the muddier lakes made the ritual of immersion less and less spiritual for me with each passing year.

Then came 2020. Maybe it was COVID, maybe it was the introspection it not only afforded but enforced, but suddenly health, sustainability, and nature all felt tied together. Around the same time I was beginning my composting journey, I started seeing posts about eco-friendly Ganpatis - people making idols at home with clay or mud or insisting on buying those from shops. It felt like a divine push towards circularity. That year, I insisted we get an eco-friendly idol too. In fact, we made one at home.

Since then, I’ve noticed a quiet but steady shift. The BMC has even urged people to immerse eco-friendly Ganpatis at home. And while nearly half of the 60,000+ idols immersed after 1.5 days of the festival were still Plaster of Paris, the fact that the conversation has entered policy and public awareness feels like progress.

I see this as history repeating itself—in the best possible way. Because here’s the truth: Nature is God. Preserving nature, keeping our rivers clean, choosing clay over PoP—that itself is devotion. If we do this, we bring back what was once natural and eco-friendly inherently. The good part is - we don’t need to reinvent sustainability; our traditions already had it built in. My grandparents carried cloth bags to buy vegetables or while going to the temple long before they became “eco-chic”, I am certain yours did too. Our ancestors cooked in earthen and steel pots before non-stick pans poisoned our minds and our kitchens and we are gradually creeping back in time to those healthier options. Villagers live on millets, grains, and raw veggies, while we shell out big bucks to dieticians for the same advice. Funny how the ‘new superfoods’ are just everyday food for our communities. With every instance of history repeating itself, we are inching closer to our roots, and letting the better version of our traditions help us flourish.

When I thought about how I could share these contemplative musings, writing this piece was my first resort. Given the response I received on my composting journey (The 5-Part Jugaad Composting Series), I realized even my closest friends took notice only when I took the effort to write and share my experience. So here’s my call to you: if you’ve been waiting for a push to try circularity, what better moment than Ganesh Chaturthi? Lord Ganesha is the Adi Dev—the one we turn to when we start anything new. Let this be the beginning: bring home an eco-friendly idol, spread the word, do your part.

Because if there’s one obstacle we’ve unknowingly created for ourselves, it’s pollution. And who better than Ganpati Bappa to help us remove it—if only we take that first step.

Are you ready? If yes, say Shri Ganesh and go for it!

Written by Sangeetha for I Will Circle Back.
If it spoke to you, hit the ❤️ or share it — that’s how the circle grows.