This community in Bengaluru turns discarded 'Gods & goddesses' into celebration of 'circularity'

Bengaluru, Jul 27 (PTI) Class Nine student Ayushvi Roy picked up a compact, framed picture of Goddess Saraswathi and a tiny glass idol of Lord Ganesha, both discarded in a pile of thousands, after browsing about 30 minutes.

These, said Roy, will be placed in the small shrine in her room that she is putting together with the idols that she is drawn to.

Born to atheist parents, her home was bereft of idols and worship, Roys said.

"But I am a believer and I make it a point to come to the temple every day," Roy told PTI.

It was on one of her visits to her favourite temple -- Siddhi Vinayaka temple at the 7th Sector of HSR Layout -- that Roy came across a recycling event like no other.

Organised by HSR Citizen Forum on July 26, the event saw old pictures of Gods and Goddesses and idols being collected from those who would have otherwise discarded them underneath some trees, which would have eventually ended up in landfills.

Here at the event, after Udvasana pooja -- which is believed to aid the "extraction" of the deity's presence from the idol or image and returning it to its source -- these discarded idols and pictures either find a second home or are recycled following due process.

Sitting among a pile of stripped frames, separating nails, paper, plastic, glass and wooden bits, so that whatever can be recycled can be recycled, 68-year-old Ananthakrishnan, a retired banker and a resident of HSR Layout said he never misses an opportunity to attend the sustainable events organised in their community.

"They give me a sense of purpose. Of all the events, this one is special to me. I have attended all three organised so far. You can say I am becoming a pro at stripping these old photo frames," Ananthakrishnan told PTI.

Another volunteer, Sunil Reddy, a software engineer who turns social activist on weekends, said he is amazed at the turnout every single time.

"When we held this for the first time, about nine months ago, we had 50 people coming with their unwanted idols and framed photos. I thought that was big. Today, we had people coming all the way from Mysuru and Hosur.

Just goes to show where there is a will, there will always be a way," Reddy told PTI.

The youngest volunteer of the lot, 9-year-old Prashasthi, Class 5 student, who came dressed as goddess herself, waits patiently for her mother, Pragathi Badarinath, to hand her a frame after removing all the dangerous bits.

Then, with a concentration that belies her age, Prashasthi deftly pulls out the nails with her plier, hands clad in gloves to prevent accidentally scratching herself with nails.

She didn't mind doing this, she shrugged when asked. "But my favourite activity with my mom and her community friends is when we make our own clay Ganesha idols during Vinayaka Chaturthi," Prashasthi told PTI.

71-year-old Vanaja said she feels compelled to pick up the discarded idols and pictures, as she added another one to her substantial pile.

"I don't live very far from here and I have come all three times. I rescue as many as I can. Some of them are still so good that it is a crime to throw them away," said Vanaja. The sheer consumerism of today bothers me, said Vanaja.

"Ideally, we should never throw away things that we worship. I don't really understand why people buy them if they can't keep them for life," said Vanaja.

Although Vanaja said she is not bothered by the belief that picking up discarded idols brings bad luck, she said her husband has such a belief.

"So, he doesn't allow me to bring them inside our home, but I keep them in our patio, some beneath our trees," she added.

For siblings Brinda (23) and Shreyas (22) it was a hunt of a different kind. Avid collectors of antiques and lithographs, the siblings came all the way from K R Puram when they saw a reel advertising the event.

Their nearly three-plus-hour browsing yielded them a bounty in lithographs, some even by Ravi Varma, whose goddesses are hard to come by these days, said the siblings.

Their favourite pick at the HSR event is a painting of deities of Kothandarama Swami Temple in Kanjanur, near Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. Brinda believes that it is at least 100 years old.

"It is also very rare to see the entire family of Lord Rama in one picture as it is seen in the painting. This is like treasure for people like us," said Brinda.

She said they have been collecting old idols and pictures for the last couple of years.

"We started by picking them from roadsides, much to the dismay of our parents. But I guess over the years they realised that it was pointless to tell us not to anymore," said Brinda.

Brinda said they don't really believe in the bad luck theory, but they do have a rule while picking up things.

"If we don't know what it is, then we don't take it," said Brinda. Her brother Shreyas whipped up his phone and swiped through a gallery of the Hindu pantheon to show us some of the rare ones he picked along the way.

"We restore what we can, some we keep in our own collection and some we pass on to people who want them. An event like this is a God sent for us," said Shreyas. PTI JR ADB