Manjunath P*, Pramod Subbarao^$, Harish Bhat^#

* Email: manjunathbhounsley1972@yahoo.com
$ Email: pragsrao@hotmail.com
# Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Malleshwaram, Bangalore – 12,
Email: harish@ces.iisc.ernet.in

Methodology followed:

Interviewing a few of the makers and vendors of Ganesha idols from different localities in Bangalore.

Idols categorised into:

• Large (4 feet and above)
• Medium (Between 2 and 4 feet)
• Small (Less than 2 feet)

Sampling Date and Time:

12^th September 2004, Morning.

Year by year, the demand for Ganesha idols are increasing in number and the artists are busy catering to the diverse needs of the customers. Pottery town (near Lingarajpuram), Kumbarpete (near Majestic), Magadi, Yalahanka and Nagavara are some of the main places where the Ganesha idols are made in large numbers.

To get an approximate estimate of the number of idols made in a year, we conducted a survey on 12^th September 2004 with the following results.

Pottery town (Near Lingarajapuram)

1. Laxmi, a 35 year old has been involved in the idol making since eight years. This year she has made 9,000 Ganesha and 1,500 Gowri idols most of them being below 2 feet height.
2. Venkatesh, a 30 year old gets Ganesha idols made of Plaster of Paris (PoP) from Mumbai,  and Tirupathi. He has employed 28 artists from Kolkata to paint the Ganeshas. These artists spray paint the idols. All the Ganesha idols are above 3 feet and this time there are more than 3,000 idols.
3. Selva, a 40 year old has made more than 10,000 Ganesha idols this year, all being below 2 feet in height.
4. Kuppa, a 28 year old has made more than 9,000 Ganesha idols, all being below one foot.
5. A 70-year-old resident recollected that Pottery Town was created in the early 20^th century by the English to employ potters in a common place. There are 36 potter families in this area. Each family makes a minimum of 10,000 Ganesha idols every year. Most part of the year, these families are engaged in making earthen pots, flower pots, other idols and etc. During Ganesha festival, these families make (36 * 10,000 = 36,000) Ganesha idols. All these idols are marketed for a wholesale price. Many of the big Ganesha idols are made as per the orders on hand. The demand for the idols has increased since few years.

Pottery town caters 60% of the demand for Ganesha idols for Bangalore, thus a whopping number of 6,00,000 idols are made each year.

Kumbarpete (Near K.R.Market)

There are about 8 families engaged in making Ganesha idols. These families make the idols to meet 20 % of the demand for the idols, thus making 1,20,000 idols.

Nagavara

This is another place where Ganesha idols are made in large numbers and they cater to the 20% of the demand, thus making 1,20,000 idols.

Artists from places in and around Bangalore make about 5,000 Ganesha idols.

Most of these idols are marketed wholesale while few of them are retailed. The clay required for these are procured from Yelahanka. According to most of the artists, majority of the people do not buy unpainted idols. To make the idols attractive and marketable, the artists use oil paints to colour them.

From the survey, it is seen that:

• 6,00,000 ganesha idols of small and medium sizes are made every year.

• Assuming about 80% of small and medium sized idols are sold every year, thus (85% of 6,00,000) = 5,10,000 idols are sold.

• Assuming there is demand for 5% of big Ganeshas in addition to the number of small and medium idols made in above areas, we have (5% of 3,60,000 + 5% of 1,20,000 + 5% of 1,20,000)  = 18,000 + 9,000 + 9,000 = 36,000 large ganesha idols are sold every year.

• At the end of the season, 5,10,000 + 36,000 + 5,000 = 5,51,000 are made and sold.

• Assuming about 98% of the total Ganesha idols sold will be immersed, we have total of 539980.

• Ganesha idols are immersed in various lakes, in homes and in wells across the Bangalore City.

Mukerjee Aniruddhe
Jabalpur Municipal Corporation, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India

ABSTRACT

The immersion of idols by Hindus and taking possession of tazias by Muslims are old traditions in India. When festivals end, people immerse idols and tazias in water bodies which are nearby or accessible. Earlier, this used to be done in lotic water resources but now, people have started using lampic water bodies as well. Urban settlements have limited water resources which are accessible to the people. However, they are not concerned that these water resources, whether used for drinking or other purposes, become polluted. The idols of Lord Ganesha and the goddess Durga, worshipped by Hindus, are immersed in September and October annually while during the Moorum festival in May, tazias are immersed by Muslims. Both idols and tazias are made of clay (only for idols), hay, cloth, paper, wood, thermocol, jute, adhesive materials and synthetic paints. Thermocol is not-biodegradable while paints contain heavy metals such as chronium, lead, nickel, cadmium and zinc. The Upper Lake of Bhopal is an example where even sources of potable water are being used for idol immersion while the well-known Buda Talaab of Raipur and Haumnan Taal of Jabalpur are examples of water bodies likewise used for this activity and other rituals. The famous Pichola Lake of Udaipur, Rajasthan, is similarly used. Currently, people are also using lakes, ponds and tanks as well. Immersion of idols after the rainy season allows the biodegradable and non-degradable matters to settle down in the water bodies. This leads to their euthrophication. After decomposition, the biodegradable matters recycle into the system which the others form sediments. The recycled biodegradable components directly enter the food chain of the aquatic ecosystem and accumulate in the different parts of plants and animals. The bio-accumulation of heavy metals in the biological system transfers the toxic elements from the producer to consumer level which can be a future health hazard. This paper addresses this highly sensitive issue and attempts that are being made to deal with it.

INTRODUCTION

This paper deals with the practice of immersion of holy deities in urban water bodies all over India every year. The well-known Buda Talaab of Raipur, Hanumantal of Jabalpur, the Pichola Lake of Udaipur and the upper and lower lakes of Bhopal are examples of water bodies which are being used for idol immersion. Amongst these, the upper lake of Bhopal happens to be a source of potable water for the people.

The two main occasions are the festivals related to the god Ganesh and the goddess Durga. In fact, the Ganesh festival is almost immediately followed by the Durga festival. Ceremonial worship or Pooja takes place in the months of September/October every year for people to offer prayers and seek the blessings of Lord Ganesha, who is considered the god of wisdom, and goddess Durga, who is protector from all evils. People believe that worshipping would ensure fulfilment of their desires without hurdles. Earlier, the number of locations where this festival was celebrated remained limited to a very few installations at residential colonies. As time passed, these locations have increased. More and more colony youth groups have become active and started installing idols at various centres during the celebration.

The Ganesh festival is celebrated in Maharashtra with great devotion. Madhya Pradesh, the neighbouring state, has also inculcated the culture of celebrating this festival at public places. In earlier times, the Ganesh Chaturthi celebration was limited to the installation of the statue of the Lord itself which indicated the religious sentiments behind the installation but now thematic Jhankis have started. A Jhanki is a temporary public place where the statue is installed with new concepts, new themes and new formations in combination with a short mythological story or social message; each Jhanki desires to display its own creativity and superiority over other Jhankis.

The goddess Durga is considered to be the deity of power and destruction of evil. This festival is of great importance in the northern, eastern and central parts of India. The Jhankies of Durga have grown in numbers, size and combinations. Many creative and thematic Jhankies are created during the celebration, increasing the material refuse load which ultimately finds its way into the water bodies.

The immersion of idols in water bodies is an important religious custom at the culmination of the Durga or Ganesh festival celebrations. The religious significance attached to this customary traditional practice is that gods and goddesses or the residue of idols need to be cooled in water bodies as a mark of respect to the deities and their power. It is also believed that idols of gods and goddesses cannot be left unattended on the land because these idols may be subject to misuse, hence inviting the displeasure of the gods who may cause mass destruction to people and the society. One other reason attached to the practice of idol immersion is the belief that water can wash off all ills and provide purity and sanctity to the numerous activities. Continuing the traditional practices and religious customs, all committees participate in the procession at the end of the festivals, which ultimately culminates at a water body where the idols are immersed after performing a pooja or worship. This is considered the last ritual before the send-off of the idols personified as gods. These immersion places are chosen mainly on account of their accessibility to the public.

The reasons for the immersion of idols in the water bodies can be summarised as follows:

•     Water is the only medium that has the capacity to gradually disintegrate the idol without destruction or subjection to flames.

•     Water is the pure medium to cool the powers of idols.

•     Keeping idols open in dry places does not allow disintegration easily and hence they can be subject to misuse. At the time of installation, the sacramentation of idols (introduction of life in idols) is done by performing vedic mantras or hymns from the ancient holy Vedas. Similarly at the end of the festival, the power believed to be vested in the idols due to their sacramentation, needs to be released and the only acceptable way to gods is immersion in water.

On account of the immersion, materials like clay, bamboo, grass, wood, metals, jute, colors, painted cloth, flowers, incense sticks, dhoop, amphor, ash etc. are released into the water bodies. Added clay results in siltation of the lakes while immersed biodegradable materials contaminate the quality of the lake water.

The magnitude of this intervention in the lakes can be deduced from the following figures of idol immersion in Bhopal in 1998, 1999 and 2000:

(weight in tonnes)

A perusal of the comparative table illustrates the mushrooming of Ganesh idols until they are worshipped almost at a household level. The environmental impact of the water quality as per the 1999 data is shown in Tables 1-6. Looking at the seriousness of the issue, the Lake Bhopal Conservation and Management Project launched an extensive awareness campaign in 1999 through the media to convince the people about the need to save the lake from pollution through idol immersion. It was a bold step to tackle an issue which no administration was willing to deal with.

Table 1. Impact of Ganesh idol immersion on water quality at upper lake, 1999.

*All units except pH and turbidity are in mg/I.

Table 2. Impact of Ganesh idol immersion on water quality at lower lake, 1999.

*All units except pH and turbidity are in mg/I.

Table 3.  Heavy metal concentration (mg/l) at Sheetal Das ki Bagiya, upper lake during Ganesh Chaturthi, 1999.

* BDL= Below detectable limit.

Table 4. Impact of Durga idol immersion on water quality at upper lake, 1999.

*All units except pH and turbidity are in mg/I.

Table 5. Impact of Durga idol immersion on water quality at lower lake, 1999.

*All units except pH and turbidity are in mg/I.

Table 6.  Heavy metal concentration (mg/l) at Sheetal Das ki Bagiya, upper lake, during Dushehra, 1999.

* BDL= Below detectable limit.

One of the ways to lower the quantity of immersion is to have smaller and environmentally friendly idols. Competitions for making environmental friendly idols constitute a way to promote awareness on this aspect. In 1999, such a competition was organised in Bhopal by the Lake Bhopal Conservation and Management Project to promote the manufacturing of idols in line with environmental friendly products. A large number of entries for this competition was received, illustrating the awareness of the people towards these activities.

In the case of Bhopal, since the upper lake was a source of potable water as well, it was essential to try to shift the immersion activity away from it. This would entail the suggestion of alternative immersion sites nearby that the public had to agree to use. However, accepting alternate sites called for a change in attitude. It was a matter of understanding on the part of religious heads who held sentimental values and their willingness to break traditional practices which were of great relevance. The reasons for not accepting alternative sites largely depended on the mental rigidities of their committees. These rigidities would sometimes result in vague expressions of unreasonable explanations for their non-acceptance.

In 1999, the Lake Bhopal Conservation and Management Project was able to identify and select such a site, Prempura, on the spill channel of the upper lake which was conveniently located near the city and was well connected with roads. Sufficient open space was also available for infrastructure development. Since the flow of the spill channel was towards the outfall, the pollutants would not have the tendency to flow back into the main water body. The accumulated silt due to idol immersion would be flushed out when the gates of the lake opened during the raining season to remove excess water from the lake. A 200-metre long Prempura immersion bay was constructed where sufficient water was available round the year for idol immersion purposes. The site was provided with proper electricity facilities, access to roads and vehicle parks. Besides these, platforms for big idols and cranes were provided for the convenience of people. The bay was completed just before the Durga idol immersion in 1999. This site was inspected by the local MLAs, the corporators of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation as well as the leaders of religious communities. The site was also shown to NGOs working with the project to create awareness among the community.

Awareness activity and the efforts of the project resulted in diversion of a significant number of idols to the new Prempura site which otherwise would have been immersed in the traditional sites.

A magnitude of this intervention can be deduced from the following figures:

CONCLUSION

•     The immersion of idols is a religious activity and people are sentimentally attached to it. Despite environmental problems, these activities cannot be terminated entirely.

•     The solution for this problem lies in changing the attitudes of the people.

•     People from all walks of life have to be motivated to the following:

-     To use idols made from environmental friendly items.

-     As far as possible, avoid using as immersion sites places which provide drinking water.

Manjunath P* , Pramod Subbarao^$, Harish Bhat^#

*Email: manjunathbhounsley1972@yahoo.com
$ Email: pragsrao@hotmail.com

# Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Malleshwaram, Bangalore – 12,
Email: harish@ces.iisc.ernet.in

Methodology followed:

Visual counting of the idols arriving for immersion.

Samples taken at:

Entrance of the tank.

Idols categorised into:

• Large (4 feet and above)
• Medium (Between 2 and 4 feet)
• Small (Less than 2 feet)

Sampling Date and Time:

02^nd September 2003 (3^rd day of the festival), 7.00 pm – 7.30 pm (30 mins)

Sankey Tank being in the heart of city attracts lot of visitors with diverse interests. It has been rejuvenated and maintained well by the BCC since 4 years with no sewage infiltration. The inflow to this tank is largely through Jewel Filter, supplemented by rainwater.

During the Ganesha festival, the tanks in Bangalore are subjected to various kinds of pollution such as, dumping of flowers, decoration materials, worshipping materials, other materials and the Ganesha idol itself, made of clay, Plaster-of-Paris with hazardous chemical paints.

Last year, BCC with the inputs from LDA and other departments had taken appreciable step to construct a ‘Kalyani’ at the Sankey Tank, to facilitate the easy immersion of Ganesha idols from the devotees of the vicinity. In addition, this Kalyani was mooted to minimise the pollution in the main tank.

With the strict regulation by the police and announcements through public address system at the tank’s vicinity, the devotees removed the flowers and other materials from the Ganesha idols, before immersing the idols in the Kalyani. This, beyond doubt has reduced the pollution visibly in the main tank.

Usually, the idols are worshipped and immersed in large numbers on the first day, and a gradual decrease in immersion numbers on 3^rd, 5^th, 7^th, 9^th, 11^th day and so on.

We sampled the data for half–hour on the 3^rd day of the festival. Our observation reveals that:

Small sized idols:                      400

Medium sized idols:                  320

Large sized idols:                      160

Total (Sampled idols in half hour):          880

By extrapolating the data to four hours (6pm-10pm) of immersion in a day, we see that:

Assumptions:

1. The immersion traffic is constant for four hours every day.
2. The immersion traffic is 50% reduced for the next immersion day from the previous immersion day.
3. The immersion occurs only between the evening hours of 6pm and 10pm.
4. The immersion occurs only on the odd days.
5. The immersion does not occur beyond the 11^th day.

No of Idols immersed in the Kalyani

Measurements of Key Parameters

All parameters are in milligram/ liter except pH, electrical conductivity (µs) and turbidity (NTU).
BDL = Below Detectable Level.

Suggestions:

1. Awareness campaign through print and visual media to

-          Buy the idols of smaller size and with less flashy paints.
-          Encourage the purchase of clay idols without paint.
-          Buy the idols painted with natural dyes (provide the location of such Ganeshas sold in Bangalore)
-          Create awareness to use the idols made from paper pulp.
-          Immerse the idols at their respective houses in buckets, wells etc.
-          Reuse the larger idols for future years, which could minimise the water pollution, scarcity of water to immerse and the costs of the idol.

1. Bring about awareness to the general public about ‘Symbolic Immersion‘, wherein a large Ganesha idol is saved for subsequent use, a small idol, symbolising the large idol is immersed.
2. Telecast in Doordarshan and other channels, broadcast in AIR and other radio channels bi-lingually about the awareness and request to maintain and protect the tank by showing the damage to the water body, fish population, water quality.
3. Water samples from the Kalyani and the main tank is to be collected before the start and the end of the immersion season. Subjecting such samples to analysis (pH, Turbidity, Alkalinity, Chloride, Total Solids, BOD, COD) the pollution levels in the Kalyani and the main tank can be determined. We also can analyse if there is any seepage of heavy metals (Ni, Cr, Mn, Pb) into the main tank from Kalyani.
4. Clean the Kalyani from the immersed Ganeshas in the wee-hours thus making space for new immersions the next day. Also, the silt removed should be dumped in far-away landfills without exposing the remains. If the remains are seen, this may stir the public sentiments and become a huge snowball.
5. Systematic sampling in the lakes of high immersion traffic is to be carried out.
6. Construct such ‘Kalyanis’ at the other tanks of Bangalore where the idols are immersed.
7. Publish the information about the water quality analysis in print and visual media to create awareness.
8. Based on the findings, necessary action to be taken (Polluter Pays Principle).
9. Every immersion party to be issued a colour coded ticket based on the
10. size of the idol being immersed.
11. For every ticket issued a nominal immersion fee of Rs 1.00 should be collected and this amount should NOT be revised upwards at all.
12. The revenue generated from the above should be utilised for the removing the idols or the silt during the festival season.