In the not-so-far-future, people celebrating Vinayaka Chaturthi will have their own backyard immersion rituals. This will be a quiet affair, where they place their clay Ganesha idols inside a clay pot with water. The idol will sprout into greens or vegetables that can be harvested within the next one month or so.

This trend is picking up — spreading like wild fire, actually — with several people across the country making ‘seed Ganeshas’.

Jayasri Krishnan of D’Organica Garden Shoppee, that spreads awareness on terrace gardening in the city, offers Ganeshas that come with mulai keeraiseeds. “We offer a set that consists of a one-feet-tall clay idol, a clay flower pot, a packet of seeds, and manure,” says Jayasri.

“Instead of immersing the idol in the sea, people can do so at their balconies or gardens,” she adds. Jayasri came up with the idea last year and the response, she says, has been phenomenal. “I sold 250 idols in one day last year,” she says. She’s been getting calls from across India, asking if she can courier her sets.

The seed Ganeshas, according to Jayasri, are beneficial in many ways. “One, it avoids the pollution that colourful plaster of Paris idols cause to our waterbodies. Two, it gets people involved in growing their own food,” she says. “Within five days of sowing the seeds, they start to sprout and in 21 days, people can harvest the greens,” she says....Read more

Source web page: The hindu