However, on Monday, at an eco-friendly idol-making workshop in Rodas Ecotel, near Hiranandani Gardens, Bhalerao made his first clay idol — a 6 inch Ganesh model complete with natural colours and the works. At the end of his two-hour session, he accepted that his outlook has changed.

“We have been setting up 10-11 feet Ganesh idols at Bhandup for the last 24 years. These large idols with intricate decorations and themes attract visitors during festivals. I always thought that people love big idols, but now, I feel that the future belongs to the eco-friendly Ganesh festival.” He said that though people might take time to “get accustomed to small-sized Shadu (clay) Ganesh, but the change will come eventually”.

While this year, Bhalerao’s Mandal has already ordered a 10 feet tall Plaster of Paris (PoP) ‘murti’ ; he vouches to get an 8-inch clay idol from next year.

In a workshop organised by the Manch, an NGO promoting social, civil and educational causes in the eastern suburbs, nearly 10 underprivileged girls from the Manch spread the message of creating eco-friendly Ganesh idols to mandal representatives. Twenty-year-old Amrapalli Karat, who has been working with the Manch for the last seven years, said, “For over two years, we’ve been teaching students and teachers to make idols. This was the first time we took this concept to the mandal organisers, and their reactions were very encouraging. We suddenly realised how informed they are about issues like global warming.”

The Manch had invited 18 mandals from Kanjur Marg, Sakinaka, Bhandup, Vikroli, Powai and other areas of the eastern suburbs to attend the workshop. Nearly 80 representatives from 12 mandals attended the workshop.

Chaitali Gupta, a member of Manch said that they are planning to organize another workshop for mandal. “While only a few mandals came for the workshop, we have received several calls. What is interesting is that these commercial mandals, often part of grand competitions with large PoP models are so willing to adopt bio degradable methods of idol making. If by next year we see at least a few eco-friendly idols in public mandals, then we can be sure that a change is in the offing”, she said.

Meanwhile while many mandal representatives enjoyed the workshops, they were wary of switching to a smaller, eco-friendly idol model. Mohammad Salman, member of the Saki-Mohali Mandal, a joint mandal organised by Saki Naka and Mohali village citizens, said, “I experienced the eco-friendly Ganesh making for the first time and I think that these idols look as professional as PoP idols. It may take a while to catch up, but it is the socially responsible way to celebrate the festival in such a polluted city.” Another mandal representative added that the government should regularize the size of idols in the city and make eco-friendly idols a law.