MYSORE: What has caught the attention of environmental activists in recent years has been done by this 55-year-old woman quietly for the last 21 years, far away from the media arclights.Meet Kalpanamma, a resident of Begur village near here who has been making clay Ganesha idols all by herself and educating neighbours not to use idols made out of harmful chemicals or plaster of paris.Kalpanamma, who is also the secretary of Milk Producers Cooperative Society run by women, has urged other members to try their hand at making the idols.As there were no Ganesha idols available at shops in the village, she along with her children went to a pond near the Junior College ground, collected clay in a vessel and made an idol for her children and offered puja. She soon became adept at making the idols - the lord in different postures such as reading the Bhagavad Gita - over the years.Kalpanamma takes about 6-7 hours to make a 3 ft tall Ganesha idol with a Shivalinga in its right hand which is used for puja. She retains the idols for a year, conducting special pujas during festivals and submerging it in a well or in a vessel filled with water. “Chemicals or Plaster-of-Paris are against nature. Even God would not want to be painted with chemicals that would pollute our water bodies,” she avers.The woman adds that one should use locally available resources like black soil or clay for making the idols. She also opines that one must not submerge idols in wells.Kalpanamma makes it a point to invite her relatives and friends during festivals to educate them on the issue.
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