We all celebrate festival with the idols of Gods and Goddesses and after the festivity is done we often immerse the idols in water or keep them under the shades of a tree. The Nashik-based advocate Tripti Gaikwad (33) has a different noble plan to this and something which she finds very much needed in the current situation. Tripti with the help of her Sampurnam Seva Foundation collects idols and photo frames to recycle them into toys for underprivileged children and bird houses.
Every year more than millions of idols of God and Goddesses are discarded. Most of the people immerse them in water or keep them under trees, without ever thinking about can happen after this. At some point we human beings worship the idols and even after sometime when we immerse them in water, we are hardly aware of the consequences . These idols of God never dissolve and for many years it stays like this. The idols of God are made from plastic, plaster of pairs, and other materials.
All this started when Tripti noticed a man submerging idol frames. She stopped him and convinced him to recycle the wood and paper. This is the exactly the time when she realized how and what can be the unique solution to this “holy” problem. Tripti then started taking the pictures out from the photo frame and dissolve them in water and use them as a fertilizer for plants and use the leftover frame in making a birdhouse and other things. The idols which are made up of plastic and metals are melted and made into cubes, cutlery and the left plaster of pairs is converted into powder and then they add some cement and then toys and brisk are made from it. This is how the entire recycling process started. She started her idea in the name of a mission and named her cause as Sampurna Seva Foundation. According to her, it means giving ‘purnatvar’ to these broken idols of God. But before recycling they do Uttar Puja so that it doesn’t hurt anyone’s emotions. She also recycles old photos and ancestors photo frames. Till now Tripti has recycled over 10,000 idols in the right way.
Today Tripti is leading a team of 25 volunteers and workers in turning the cause into a reality. This story should inspire people so that they don’t immerse these idols in water bodies or under tress. Give them to Tripti, so that she can recycle them in the right way. Currently, they are functional in Pune, Mumbai and Nashik. You can easily content her on her Phone no. 9823455989. Recycling takes a little effort on your part but makes a big difference to the world. Tripti turned what was an normal practice of ignorance into a wholesome project of hope and creativity. She strongly says that “apart from saving the environment, our team also ensures that no religious sentiments are hurt in the process. For this reason, a puja is conducted for each item before remaking it into something of utilitarian value,”.
