An edible Ganpati delight

Over the past few years, the city has tried to adapt itself to welcoming eco-friendly Ganesh idols during the festive season. From clay to paper, anything and everything that can negate the hazardous effect of Plaster of Paris idols, is up for grabs if you set out to find it. But if you look hard enough, you’re sure to find stories of devotion and creativity that mesh even better.

Take for example 46-year-old Rintu Rathod, who has created chocolate Ganesh idols for the festive season. The idea, she says, is to eventually submerge the chocolate likeness of the elephant God in milk, and distributed to  needy children.

“Years ago, a day after the visarjan, I was walking across Juhi beach and saw a lot of idols just lying around. Being a Ganesh devotee, I couldn’t take it, and decided to do something about it,” she says, adding, “The act of visarjan should be inside of us, and not on the outside.”

And so, the former commercial designer, who is now a designer baker, came up with the idea of idols that are not just eco-friendly, but also make a difference to the world. Six years ago, she started creating sugar and almond Ganpati idols, and eventually thought of taking it a step forward.

Rintu Rathod and her chocolate Ganpati idols.

Only a couple of years ago, Rintu hit upon the idea of chocolate idols. The bottomline was that no matter how old you are, if there’s one thing most people can’t resist, it’s chocolate. And the tradition has continued since then. The baker reveals that after she creates the chocolate idols, she decorates them with edible colours, as well as tiny chocolate-made props. In all, Rintu informs us, she has created 28 chocolate idols this time. The baker also managed to challenge herself and make a three-foot tall Ganesh idol too.

On the day of visarjan, the chocolate idols are immersed in a huge drum, or a vessel filled with milk. And that’s how the final milkshake is prepared. Besides Rintu and her family, the milkshake is also distributed amongst underprivileged children.

Having received recognition for her chocolate idols, Rintu says she also offers free workshops to those who would like to learn the art. “My work was appreciated globally two years ago, and is talked about even now. But I’m not satisfied with just that. Instead of appreciation, I want people to follow this route and do something for the environment and children,” she signs off, with a smile.