The festive days of the Ganesh Utsav are an occurrence that all Indians cumulatively share and enjoy and I am not an exception. The festival is like a thrill ride throughout the span of the ten days of the festival. From the day, when we welcome Lord Ganesha to our homes ( Also known as “Aagaman”) to the day when we set their idol into the flowing water (Known as “Visarjan”) it is a constant source of enthusiasm and respect towards the god.
However, it is noticed that while we are rejoicing over the festival, we are actively contributing towards water pollution too. Every year, thousands of idols are set off into the water and as many of them are made up of Plaster of Paris (POP) which is not a readily dissolving substance, the idols sediment at the bottom of the water bodies and pollute the water as the chemicals used in the color start to diffuse into the water, hence posing a threat towards marine life and water purity.
As we grew, we became aware of this and hence a few of my friends and I decided to act upon it and try to reduce such actions. We decided to replace the traditional idol which was either made up of POP or soil with one which was made up of metal because firstly, it could be used as a permanent idol which would be used for the sequential years and secondly, it was cost effective as it would be a one time investment. We reached out to the senior members of our housing society and showed them the proposition. Even though some of them were reluctant about the implementation of our idea, we were able to convince them by deciding to get a small traditional idol which we would set off in a large bucket during visarjan so that we could properly dispose the residue after the ceremony.
Learning outcomes achieved:
LO3 : Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
This activity was planned 2 months before of the time of the festival so that we would be able to produce a proper proposition and offer a viable solution to the senior members. In order to accomplish this, my friends and I gathered during meets to discuss ideas and then shortlisting them to one profound solution.
LO4 : Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
We had to face a few setbacks during the process of this activity. We had to reschedule meetings with the members numerous times due to the absence of some of them. We also had to struggle to convince them for the proposal as some of them were reluctant towards the idea. However, we stood up for what we believed and in turn, we succeeded in our motive.
LO5 : Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
The sweet result of this activity couldn’t have been achieved without the efforts of our team. Since we were working in a team, it was easy to brainstorm ideas as there was diversity in our perspectives. We were also able to divide tasks among each other so that the workload could be equally distributed and hence resulting in maximum productivity which was very beneficial for our cause.
LO6 : Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
Water is a precious resource and hence it is our responsibility that we use it wisely. However, such acts lead to our water bodies getting polluted which in turn, harms us back because we utilize the water for our day to day tasks. This shows how this issue has grown to a large extent as many people in rural areas consume this water and then suffer due to the pollutants that had contaminated the water. Thus, by this activity we tried to reduce our contribution in water pollution by promoting an Eco-friendly way to celebrate the festival and encouraging other housing societies to do the same.
LO7 : Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
One of the aims of this activity was to influence other societies to take such steps towards making our environment healthy. We as a housing society had to be ethical in what we were doing to ensure that the influence had an impact. We had to identify what was right and what wasn’t while we executed this activity. Some of our choices had to be made keeping in mind the ethics of that choice. While doing the ceremony of visarjan, we had to ensure that the residue that we dispose will be disposed properly otherwise the aim of the activity couldn’t be fulfilled as we would create a false impression among others. Hence it was mandatory to execute this activity with such attitude to in turn, create an impact on others.
Overall, I felt that this activity helped me realize how my actions could lead to further change in society and how it is high time that we took actions against such issues of global significance so that we can lead to a healthy lifestyle once again. I really enjoyed throughout the execution of this activity and if given the chance, I would like to conduct similar activities in the future for the betterment of our society.
