Dadar's Shivaji Park Ganesh mandal urges one minute a day for nature

The well-known 'Shivaji Park cha Vighnaharta' public Ganeshotsav mandal in Mumbai's Dadar area is completing 53 years of its celebration this year. As it does every year, the mandal has tried to go beyond pomp and devotion to give society an important message.

According to the mandal, the real purpose of celebrating Ganeshotsav is not only religious festivity but also spreading social awareness among people. The mandal says it has consistently tried to look at various social issues from a positive and constructive perspective and use Ganeshotsav to make people aware.

In today's fast-paced, busy life, everyone says the same thing: there is no time. No time for family, no time for nature, no time for society, and no time for oneself. But the mandal believes it is worth thinking about how big a change could come if everyone set aside just one minute of their day for the right cause.

With this thought, the 'Shivaji Park cha Vighnaharta' mandal has brought a simple but effective message through its Ganeshotsav this year. This year's theme and decoration is '1 Minute for Nature, for a Bright Future'. The theme and decoration have been designed by art director Dr Sumit Patil.

According to the mandal, one minute is not a very long time, but if crores of people give just one minute of their day to nature, the impact will certainly be big. Small steps such as switching off lights for a minute to save electricity, resolving to save water for a minute, cleaning up one's surroundings, avoiding the use of plastic, reusing old items, segregating waste properly, saving or planting a tree, and not wasting food, if adopted by everyone, will not benefit just one person.

The mandal says that if one person gives a minute, it will be a small effort. But if thousands, lakhs and crores of people give their own one minute, the sum of these small efforts can bring about a big social and global change. The main aim of this year's theme is to replace the thought "what difference will my one minute make" with the thought "if I give my one minute, the change will begin with me."

Through the decoration, an attempt has been made to present this thought in different creative and visible forms. Saving electricity, saving water, cleanliness, reuse of things, recycling, protecting the environment and responsibility towards society, all these issues have been linked to the one-minute theme.

The mandal's treasurer, Darshan Musale, said their Ganeshotsav is not just an occasion for decoration, lights and celebration but also a means of giving something good to society. He said the wish of the 'Shivaji Park cha Vighnaharta' mandal is that as people bow their heads before Bappa, some small good resolve should awaken in their minds and carry forward from the mandal's effort. Darshan Musale said that while giving the message of protecting the environment, the mandal has always also fulfilled its social responsibility.