Ganpati visarjan marks the end of days filled with colour, music, prayers and celebration. But once the crowds leave and the festivities wind down, another sight begins to emerge along the water’s edge: broken pieces of idols left behind.
In Mumbai alone, around 1.5 lakh plaster of Paris (POP) idols are immersed every year, generating nearly 675 tonnes of waste. Since POP does not dissolve easily in water, much of it remains long after the celebrations are over.
For Malhar Kaalambe, that raised a simple question: could what was left behind be turned into something useful?
What if a broken idol could be useful again?
Malhar joined hands with Gujarat-based innovator Dr Binish Desai to explore what they could do with the broken idols left behind after visarjan.
The duo developed a way to process the POP from these idols using Binish’s proprietary ‘Murticycle’ technology. Instead of treating the material as waste, they began transforming it into useful products.
Over two years, more than 3,200 kg of recycled POP has been used to make 760 study tables for children across Maharashtra.
The process starts with collecting broken idols and separating the POP. Once processed, the material can be used to create 12 different products.
But among these, one has a particularly meaningful purpose.
From Bappa’s idol to a child’s study table
Over the past two years, the duo has used more than 3,200 kg of recycled POP to make 760 study tables for children across Maharashtra.
For children who may not have had a proper table to sit and study at, something that was once part of a Ganpati idol now has a completely different role.
A table gives them a dedicated space to open their books, finish their homework and spend time learning. In this way, a material left behind after a festival is finding its way into classrooms and homes where it can support a child’s education.
The initiative also carries an environmental benefit. Each table saves around 5,457 grams of CO₂, adding another dimension to the value of giving discarded POP a new use.
When the end of a festival becomes a new beginning
Ganpati’s journey does not have to end at visarjan. With ideas like these, even what remains behind can become part of a new story.
From broken idols to study tables, the initiative shows how festival waste can be reimagined into something that serves a child’s future.
A broken idol can become a table. A table can become a child’s study space. And an environmental challenge can become an opportunity to create something useful for communities.
It is a simple, powerful example of how innovation can extend the spirit of a celebration, turning what was once discarded into something that helps children build their futures.
