OVER 20-FOOT-TALL GANESH SCULPTURE BUILD ENTIRELY OUT OF BANANAS

The 10-day Ganesh Chaturthi celebration honours the birth of the elephant-headed god Ganesh, who is revered in Hinduism as the symbol of wisdom, prosperity, and fresh starts. Every year, the Natraj Club in Sambalpur, Odisha, India, crafts an epic statue of the Hindu god out of various materials as a way of paying their respects. Five metric tons, or approximately 5.5 tons, of bananas were used by the 11 members to create a 25-foot-tall statue of Ganesh in 2017.

The enormous sculpture, which is made up of thousands of green, unripened bananas, took 75 days to complete. The group even used additional natural materials to create ornamental details. 

The club's art director, Gopal Pansari, reveals, "We created the eyes by using banana leaves, while the ornaments and tilak for Lord were made of bamboo." However, the fruit was not wasted—bananas that had turned yellow after the celebration was over were given to the underprivileged.

The majority of Ganesh figures at the festival are constructed of plastic or other non-biodegradable materials, but Natraj Club takes great delight in creating their yearly works of art using edible and reusable materials. Previously, they used biodegradable ingredients like coconuts, sweet boondi ladoos, and conch shells to recreate the Ganesh god.