Thane: City schools are engaging students in a variety of activities and programmes to encourage them to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi in an environment-friendly way.
Before the children go off on their Ganesh Chaturthi holidays, schools are arranging special lectures and seminars on eco-friendly celebration of the festival. Right from preparing clay idols of Lord Ganesha to origami craft for the tiny tots, schools are seen getting their students ready to use their own imagination to use the environment-friendly way of Ganesh celebrations.
Neelu Lamba, principal of Hiranandani Foundation School, Thane, said, "Since last week, our students have been making clay idols of Ganpati during the art period. Thanks to a lot of awareness campaigns, many people have shifted to environment-friendly ways of celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi. Hence, even we are stressing on the importance of preserving the environment in our value education period. Apart from that, school teachers are also conducting talks to spread awareness."
Teachers believe that this creative, social concept not only teaches students about environment and art, but also enables children to gain insight into our Indian culture.
"Every year, we conduct clay modelling activities for students. Right from moulding to the final touches, everything is done entirely by the students with the help of their respective class teachers. For toddlers, we have something called as paper Ganesh, where they make the Lord's replica with paper craft techniques," said Ranjani Krishnaswamy, principal of Billabong International School, Thane.
Like the rest, Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School is also set to bring in the festival with pomp and gaiety. "The school has taken concrete steps in the direction of sensitizing everyone towards an eco-friendly celebration, from eco-friendly Ganesha-making competitions for parents, to street-plays by students and classroom activities. We believe that these efforts are a small but a very sure step in bringing about a change in the community," said principal Revathi Shrinivasan.
Since last week, our students have been making clay idols of Ganpati during the art period. Thanks to a lot of awareness campaigns, many people have shifted to eco-friendly ways of celebrating the festival.
