Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations held at relief camps

Madikeri: Revanna, an eco-friendly artiste from Kumbaragere, has turned tragedy into art. His Ganesha idol tries to depict the recent natural disaster in Kodagu. Revanna, a graduate from Chamrajendra Academy of Visual Arts, has made the idol that will be placed at Ganesha temple in Virajpet in Kodagu district. However, he decided to donate ` 10,000 he got for selling the idol towards the Deputy Commissioner’s flood relief fund.

Kodagu district had witnessed floods and landslides affecting lives of thousands of people last month. “As an artiste, I like to educate people and draw their attention to prominent issues. So, I decided to make a Ganesha idol based on the theme of Kodagu floods. Here, Ganesha visits flood-hit Kodagu,” he said.  
Revanna has also made an idol of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ganesha flying kites.

He has also made idols of CM Kumaraswamy and Lord Ganesha in paddy fields, Ganesha with former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who passed away recently and former president A P J Abdul Kalam. However, he clarified that these idols are not for sale and it will be presented to his friends who want to keep it at their homes.

When asked about awareness among people on eco-friendly Ganesha idols, Revanna said he his happy that their efforts have yielded results  as people prefer buying eco-friendly idols nowadays. He said there are more than 550 orders of small, medium and big size Ganeshas for him from individuals, offices and youth clubs.