When the wicked Arabian Sea this morning cruelly regurgitated the magnificent Ganpati idols that were immersed with much fanfare last evening, a conscientious team of Bollywood stars sprang to the hapless Lord Ganesh’s aid.
Stepping amidst the debris scattered along the city’s coastline by this morning’s tide, Randeep Hooda, Dia Mirza, Vivek Oberoi and Rochelle Rao showed an uncaring Mumbai how the Ganeshotsav festivities didn’t just end with the immersions. The Ganpati idols brought back by the sea had to be respectfully taken away and not left there to deteriorate.
Unmindful of the mess, moving carefully among the broken pieces of plaster, garlands and other puja articles strewn all over Juhu Beach, the stars rolled up their trousers and sleeves and got down to sprucing up the shoreline again. Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not have asked for more willing poster boys and girls for his Swacch Bharat campaign.
The suave Randeep, barefoot but wearing gloves, gave them the lead. He was ably supported in this clean-up drive by the petite Dia who has been a strong activist for water conservation. She later tweeted about the effects on nature that the immersions of these idols will have.
Dia was accompanied by her good friend Vivek who regretted that people still used environmentally-harmful Plaster of Paris to make Ganpati idols when there were eco-friendly options available. Dia also posted pictures on her social media handle of Vivek and herself standing among the Ganeshotsav ruins to raise awareness about the same.
The former beauty queen and TV star Rochelle, while doing her bit, posted a video urging people to use eco-friendly Ganesh idols which would not harm natural resources. Expressing sadness at how these sacred Ganpati idols are treated after immersion, Rochelle’s earnest request was to respect Lord Ganesh and not to harm Mother Earth.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was determined not to treat his Ganpati disrespectfully. He sensitively chose to immerse his Ganpati in an eco-friendly tank and thereby set an example of how Ganeshotsav could end on a clean and sacred note.
