Highlight: The new concept of the Chocolate Ganpati is fast-trending in various parts of the country.
Festivals are an integral part of life. It brings lots of happiness and joy to everyone.
Usually, colorful pandals and mesmerizing statues of Lord Ganesha mark the celebration and are a usual trend.
Speaking of trend, a new trend buzzing around is the concept of Chocolate Ganpati.
The world is moving towards sustainable ways of living, and people are finding new ways to celebrate in an eco-friendly way.
Sounds unique, isn’t it!
Stay tuned to know more about this.
1. LUDHIANA’S 200Kg of Chocolate Ganesh Idol
On Thursday, a Ludhiana-based chocolatier, a restaurant owner, unveiled an eco-friendly Ganesh idol. Hand-crafted out of pure Belgian chocolate in the bakery of Ludhiana. For this year, the Ganpati idol was made of 200kg of chocolate.
Do you know about the visarjan? The idol of Lord Ganesha is immersed in milk for visarjan. The resultant chocolate milk will be collected and distributed among the unprivileged.
Harjinder Singh Kukreja is the initiator of the concept. According to him, Lord Ganesha has chosen them to come into life in the form of chocolate. And, the disposal is in the most socially responsible and delicious way.
This concept is not only eco-friendly but also a great sense of joy among the less privileged children. Kukreja, the owner of the bakery, came up with the innovative concept six years ago. Since then, he has been religiously following the ritual.
On the third day of Ganesh Utsav, the chocolate idol is immersed in milk. As a result, around 45 liters of chocolate milk collects.
Kukreja shared that the chefs have to be very precise while preparing the chocolate idol. If anything goes wrong they again have to start from scratch. Thus, making the process time-consuming. But, it is all worth the effort.
Did you know?
It took ten chefs almost ten days to craft the masterpiece.
2. BENGALURU’S CHOCOLATE GANESHA
Next is the ‘Chocolate Ganesh.’ This crazy trend is catching up in the city of Bengaluru.
Priya Jain runs Mishikrafts in Bengaluru. She has been making Ganesh idols of chocolate for the past three years.
Priya Jain gave an exclusive interview to India Today. In that interview, she mentioned that it was a friend who introduced the concept to her. Initially, even Priya was not very confident about the idea. But later, when she started making it, she loved the idea. Priya also added that the idea was to have zero waste and be as eco-friendly as possible.
People loved the idea and appreciated her efforts. The concept was similar to that of the Ludhiana bakery owner. Jain beautifully hand-crafted the Ganesh idols using chocolate. For visarjan, Jain used milk. She made prasadam from chocolate milk. Later, Jain distributed the prasadam to everyone.
However, criticism is unavoidable. People often asked her, how can one consume the idol of God? To which Jain replied that the idea is not to consume God but to spread the concept of eco-friendly celebration around.
She also added that the best thing is that most of us like chocolates. Such a delicious offering!
3. MUMBAI’S EDIBLE GANPATI IDOLS
Around 11 years ago, Santa Cruz-based artist and sculptor took everyone by surprise. Rintu Rathod’s innovation of the chocolate Ganesha took Mumbai by storm.
For the first time, Mumbaikars got introduced to the concept of edible idols.
The unique concept became a trend. Since then, Rathod brings a new and innovative idol of Lord Ganesha during Ganesh Utsav.
The previous year, Rathod created a kheer Ganpati. For this year, Rathod has come up with ‘Tridev Ganpati.’ This year’s concept comprises three idols atop Mount Kailash.
Do you know? Believe is Lord Ganesh comes to earth from Mount Kailash during Ganesh Utsav.
Rathod’s idea is to connect Lord Ganesha’s arrival and depict it in the form of Tridev Ganpati.
How thoughtful!
Rintu Rathod elaborated on her concept of Tridev Ganpati. She said, this year, Lord Ganesh has come to our place in the form of Tridev. The Tridev concept involves Rathod’s three innovations. Namely the chocolate Ganpati, the Kheer Ganpati, and the haridra or the Haldi milk Ganpati.
Sure, you must be wanting to know more about the concept. Well, the chocolate Ganpati is chocolate. The Kheer Ganapati has milk, rice, sugar, milk powder, dry fruits, and spices. Cardamom, nutmeg, saffron are a few spices to name. The Kheer Ganpati is also the latest innovation of Rathod. The Haldi Milk Ganpati has turmeric powdered milk, rock sugar, and some special spices. When immersed in milk, the concoction turns into Haldi milk. This Haldi milk is used to make Prasad.
Speaking to mid-day, Rathod said that all three are seated on chocolate and caramel Kailash Mountains. And, from there, Lord Ganesha is watching over the world.
The beautiful and thoughtful creation weighs around 80 kg. And, it is 2ft*3ft. Rathod took some 48 hours to create it.
What message does the idol give us?
According to Rathod, the world is going through a lot of challenges. And, Tridev has come to bless us all. The Haldi Milk Ganpati has taken form to save us from the pandemic. Also, it promises health with the presence of turmeric and other immunity booster spices.
Furthermore, the divine white Kheer Ganpati symbolizes universal peace. Rathod believes that Lord Ganesha will bless us with universal peace. Why? As we are aware of the situation in many parts of the country.
Last, of all, the chocolate Ganpati signifies Mother Earth. Rathod believes that Lord Ganesh has arrived to heal the earth. Also, the creation of the chocolate Gaanpati gives us a message to take care of Mother Earth.
Thus, Lord Ganesh has chosen to arrive in the form of Tridev to bless us all. That is what Rathod has to conclude.
The message- Not to harm the environment
According to Rathod, she has created all the three Ganpati idols using different techniques. Moreover, all the idols are crafted single-handedly by her.
The toughest part in the creation is innovation and correcting the formula for each of the techniques. Also, Rathod is careful and conscious about hygiene. And she follows international hygiene standards, which makes the process not that easy. After visarjan, Rathod collects the milk concoctions. Sweets made from the collected milk are distributed to the street kids.
Are you wondering how Rathod comes up with a unique and innovative idea every year? Well, she said, it is all Lord Ganesha’s blessings.
In a concluding line, Rathod urged everyone to celebrate festivals in a meaningful way. Also, all of us should ensure that we do not harm the environment.
4. Devotion on the International Platform
Shivani Naik, a 28-year-old, crafted a beautiful 10kg Lord Ganesha idol. Currently, the chocolate idol is up for display at Vasco’s 1930 mall.
At the end of the Ganesh Utsav, the immersion of the chocolate idol of Lord Ganesha is done in 30 liters of milk. Sweets will be made from the milk concoction and will be distributed to the poor and the needy.
Shivani got inspired by Rintu Rathod’s creation of the chocolate Ganesh back in 2018. Several hurdles stopped Shivani from giving the idea an action. But she wanted to celebrate the festival with a cause and make it eco-friendly.
So, this year Shivani came up with a 10Kg idol of Lord Ganesha. It took Shivani around ten days to craft the idol of Lord Ganesha.
Keeping in mind the weather conditions and changes in temperature, Shivani had to work in appropriate conditions to make sure that the chocolate did not melt.
Shivani Naik shared her idea with a cultural group that she is part of, Aaghaz. Her colleagues appreciated the unique concept and ventured to sponsor the idea. One of her friends provided the required chocolate while another assured to supply the milk.
One milk brand company showed a willingness to sponsor the milk required for immersion. It costed Shivani around Rs. 7000 for the entire project.
SUMMING UP
Festivals add meaning to our lives. And, it is always good to celebrate with a cause. People being conscious and concerned about the environment are, looking for eco-friendly ways to celebrate. At such times, the concept of chocolate Ganpati is eco-friendly. Also, it serves the social purpose of spreading a smile and sharing with the needy.
What can be a better way to celebrate? This fast-picking trend will soon be a part of our lives.
Why only this? Even we can make Ganpati idols of soil. Later on, the soil can be used to plant a tree.
What a great thought! With such new and innovative ideas coming up, we will have a cleaner and greener approach towards our environment. And, it will also be a celebration to give a message to society.
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