This year, Dasara Golu at Vani Murthy’s home in Bengaluru seems even more festive than usual. The eco-warrior has gone the green way to celebrate the auspicious occasion and replaced the festive display of dolls with composting units and ecologically friendly alternatives that people can use in their lives.
The South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana celebrate Dasara by arranging dolls and figurines in a festive display, known as Golu in Tamil.
Each item in the display is usually arranged in an odd number of steps and depicts a story.
Vani has dedicated her display, consisting of seven steps, to denote the steps one can utilise to make their house green and less wasteful.
Vermicompost, dry-leaves composting, cow dung composting were some of her decorations that gave the message of utilising wet waste to make a lush garden. She has also been actively posting tips on composting. In one such post, Veena says, “Composting can be challenging for many, I failed miserably when I did it for the first time. You just need to have a solid reason to want to compost….mine was to hold back 60% of my daily trash from reaching the landfill and lessen the burden on my municipality and my planet. Don’t let challenges stop u from doing a good deed every day to make a difference.”
The accessories also included sets of steel cutlery, cloth diapers, menstrual cups, water bottles and home-made cleaning agents.
All these promote the idea of a ‘Swachh Ghar’—a home that generates minimal waste.
Veena is an active member of the Solid Waste Management Round Table in Bengaluru and conducts online classes and workshops about kitchen-waste composting.
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Speaking to the Times of India, Vani said, “These were my seven steps to a Swachh Graha eco-friendly living. Every time I engage in such an activity and create a video, I may reach out to at least ten more people, and that makes all the difference. It’s all about spreading awareness by making composting cool and glamorising garbage. It’s high time we saw garbage as a great source.”
Veena is showing that turning into an eco-conscious person need not be a huge leap. Even small steps that you employ in your own home every day, can eventually lead to greater good.
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)
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