Indoreans are setting a new trend of eco-friendly
Diwali and making earthen lamps (diyas), idols of lord Ganesha and goddess
Laxmi for the grand fest by using dry cow dung power with blending agents.
Conducting a one-day workshop on training
to prepare idols, mobile covers, lamps, etc from cow dung at Paliwal
Dharmashala on Friday, trainer Shweta Paliwal noted the number of benefits of
using cow dung items.
Gaushala owners, youngsters and avid
artists from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Gujarat participated
in the workshop. From Indore, nearby districts like Mandsaur and Khargone, most
participants were youngsters looking for innovative ideas.
“It has been scientifically proven that cow
dung is highly beneficial as are the other plants being used in making these
earthen lamps,” Shweta said.
She claimed that these would also act as
mosquito repellents and spread fragrance as well when used.
Asked whether there was a possibility of
the cow dung lamps catching fire while in use, Shweta said nothing of the sort
would happen as they had already tested these. “However, we will recommend not
putting these lamps on wooden things,” she said.
A trending item that caught attention of
youngsters were mobile covers, which were claimed to reduce harmful radiations
of networks. “Everything prepared from cow dung is known to bring positive
vibrations to our house and unlike the common misconception, these are not
breakable items, everything stays intact for years,” Shweta said.
How to prepare cow dung idols and lamps?
·
Take the required amount of dry
cow dung powder, which can be brought from any gaushala.
·
You will need a blending agent,
which can either be directly bought or prepared from trial and error method.
·
Nature blending agent can be
prepared using water based adhesives like protein glues, PVA glues, starch
glues, natural rubber latex glues, etc. Pardeep Sharma, one of the first such
person to come up with eco-friendly cow dung lamps had used benjoin flowers
(guggul), loban and muskroot.
·
The prepared mixture is put in
the desired mould and viola! The idol, lamp, mobile cover or any decorative
item is ready.