- Hinduism is the oldest civilisation in the world. Idol worship is considered as the best form of worship not only for Hinduism but for the human race. To make the human mind concentrate at one point , sages of Vedic era invented this philosophy or methodology of idol worship. Human body is made up of five elements or the pancha bhutas — earth, water, fire, air and akasha. Whether this individual physical body becomes a stepping stone for your ultimate possibility or a hurdle towards that essentially depends on how you are able to deal with these five elements. What you are right now is just a little bit of earth, water, air and temperature.It just takes a little divine touch to make these four things into a throbbing human being.
- If you are aware of how the water, air, earth and fire in your body are functioning, suddenly you live your life with so much ease that people start thinking you are superhuman. But this is not about being superhuman, this is about realizing that being human is super.
- Hinduism always paves way for worshiping Pancha bhutas or five elements. Ganesh Chathurthi is one such event which helps in paying tribute to Mother Earth ( one of the pancha bhutas). Traditionally Ganesha chathurthi is celebrated by making ganesh murtis from terracotta clays. People buy ganesh murtis from artisans and bring it home. On the day of Ganesh chathurthi, with utmost devotion Ganesha idol is decorated and offered his favorite prasads. People gather and sing ganesha bhajans / songs. For the next 3 or 5 or 7 days the celebrations continue with sincere prayers and simple offerings. As Lord Ganesha is considered as a god of simplicity , he gets happy even with a small token of love. After the worship, Lord Ganesha idol is taken for Visarjan with happy slogans.
- Ganesha chathurthi is a festival celebrated all over India and even in foreign countries. This festival plays a major role in the life and livelihood of many rural artisans. There are many artisans in Tamil nadu whose life is dependent on this festival season. They wait for a whole year to earn during this period. Only during this festival their business will be at peak. There are many artisans who do this art of making ganesha idols traditionally using terracotta clays for generations. They learn this art through their elders in the family. There is no written form or learning material to learn this art . It is passed on into generations with utmost perfection and dedication. Although there are many artisans who have shifted from making terracotta clay idols to plaster of paris idols, still there are many who treat this as a form of dedication towards god and want to still maintain the tradition by making the idols in an authentic way. This art form helps in women empowerment to a major extent. There are many rural women who are involved in this process. As this art form does not demand any formal education many rural illiterate women are able to contribute and earn their living through this idol making. This creates a huge impact in their lives.
- Our Ganesha idols are sourced from a rural village in Madurai, where idols are made authentically by local women there. While the rest of the villagers have changed into plaster of paris idols , Only 2 families in that village are making idols using clay. They collect clay from their place and without using any chemicals they make eco - friendly ganesh murtis. Each and every place has its own individuality and the soil in each place is so unique. The soil which is sourced from Madurai is perfect for making clay idols. These clay idols get easily immersed in water within a few mins. The traditional immersion, which is usually called Visarjan , is done in a lake or pond to enrich the soil in the lake , so that the soil pollution is reduced to a considerable extent.
Thus buying an eco - friendly Ganesha is helpful in 3 aspects
- to empower rural women
- to continue the hindu tradition
- to save our soil
To visit our store to buy authentic Indian handicraft products.