In India, Navratri is more than simply a holiday; it is nine nights of holiness, devotion, fasting, and worship of the Divine. Cities all around the nation are illuminated, enormous meeting spaces are set up for massive gatherings, and magnificent idols of gods and goddesses are created.
As the pollution in the world is increasing, there should be more focus on eco-friendly products. So this Navratri we should make Green Navratri.
Eco-friendly Navratri celebrations need not require full renunciation of personal preferences. You may celebrate Navratri in style while avoiding endangering the earth and other living things thanks to eco-friendly practices. Here are some practical suggestions for having an eco-friendly Navratri.
7 Ways To Make Navratri Celebration Environmentally Friendly
Following are seven ways that you may support this cause by celebrating eco-friendly Navratri:
1. Use of Eco-Friendly Idols
In the past, clay was used to create the god and goddess idols. It was a safe and eco-friendly method. Due to the fact that clay is non-toxic and sediments, clay idols decompose best in water. However, when desire for more appealing idols increased, individuals began to use Plaster of Paris and synthetic colours.
PoP lowers the water quality when the idols are submerged in rivers and other bodies of water. Both people and aquatic creatures become harmed by the water. Therefore, making clay idols would contribute to keeping the lakes and rivers clean.
2. Don’t Throw Floral Offerings into River
Even while we like daily decorating our idols with fresh flowers, they start to wilt by nightfall. These flowers float and land on the shores of the river when they are dropped into it.
Therefore, it would be far more responsible to place all of the floral arrangements at a waste collection location. The local authorities can then compost it separately to create manure. The gardeners in your neighbourhood or city will then utilise it.
3. Go Natural with Rangoli
Every Hindu event in India includes the creation of rangoli. Multiple colours are combined into lovely designs as part of a traditional method of decorating dwellings. Today's market offers a wide variety of colours for this use, but they are toxic. Shake up your originality instead of utilising them. Create some beautiful, environmentally friendly patterns with rice, pulses, flour, leaves or natural colours.
4. Serve Food in Biodegradable Tableware
Festivals are best enjoyed with close friends and family. You should expect a lot of visitors during Navratri at your home. Washing dishes after socialising might be extremely time-consuming, while using plastic cutlery adds significant waste.
Consequently, you may buy biodegradable tableware to cut down on plastic waste. They are eco-friendly and made from sugarcane pulp and rice husk. If you keep it inside the compost bin, it will not only spare you from the cleanup afterward but also decompose into manure.
5. Incense Sticks
There are hazardous fragrant sticks on the market that are increasingly being used for religious and meditative practices. It has been discovered to be a health risk that negatively impacts our lungs. Use hand-rolled incense sticks instead, as they are more environmentally friendly and do not harm human health.
6. Use Eco-Friendly Decorative items
Since they are appealing and simple to disassemble, thermocol decorations are in high demand. But these thermocol-made ornaments seriously endanger both human health and the environment.
Mandaps, idols, doors, and wall hangings can all be embellished with ornamental pieces made of palm leaves and other environmentally friendly materials. Make your home festive-ready by adding potted plants and conventional clay lamps.
7. Avoid Firecrackers
Environmental damage is caused when firecrackers are burned. Burning firecrackers causes air pollution since the smoke they produce is toxic. Apart from this, large firecrackers also pose a danger to life and cause heavy noise pollution.
Every celebration should be commemorated in a joyful manner. However, it is also our duty to maintain our towns, waterways, and surroundings immaculately clean. There are many ways to celebrate Navratri in a very heavenly way, from bringing clay idols to your house to offering snacks with biodegradable dinnerware. But after reading this blog, you will now have great ideas to celebrate Navratri with eco-friendly products.