Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur (MS)
Kundapur, Sep 3: The thought of how to celebrate the Ganesha Chaturthi in a simple manner ignited in the minds of the students of Vandse Government PU College. Without delay they brought the red fertile mud from the nearby forest. They mixed water and made the mud good enough to be moulded. They created small Lord Ganesh idols by giving the moulded mud a shape. They also created Mooshika, the vehicle on which Lord Ganesha travels and Modaka, the sweet which he loves. The students decorated the idol with the leaves and flowers of the forest itself. They kept a huge leaf behind the idol and made a Prabhavali also and called their unique creation as 'Namma Ganapa'. At last they kept the seeds available in the forest on the lap of Lord Ganesha idol and named the idol as 'Jeeva Ganapa'.
The students were anxious whether they would be able to form the idol of Lord Ganesha. However, they were extremely happy, when they could form a simple idol of Lord Ganesha, which can take shape in the hands of anyone. Lord Ganesha was indeed created from mud. He was formed from his mother Parvathi’s body. The face of elephant, the collar of snake and rat as his vehicle are all symbols of nature. So the idol of Lord Ganesh also should be made of mud. This is the argument put forward by the students.
Thirty five students formed 10 idols of Lord Ganesha of various shapes and decorations in one and a half hour. What was striking was their simple dedication rather than the quality of the idols they prepared. In addition, by keeping the live seeds of the forest on the lap of the idol and making the eco-friendly Ganapa, who is amalgamated with the mud, is an unique attempt of the students to express their concern towards the environment.
In the present day as per the Kannada saying 'Nudi Purathanadagi, Nade Kirathanaddagide,' the festivals are involve more of pompousness than the real devotion. In addition, they are destroying the environment also. The eco-friendly Ganapa created by the students of Vandse Government PU College is a small step towards the trend that needs to change in the direction for the betterment of society and environment.