Disposing of old items with a religious significance such as panchangam, gently used puja articles, damaged sloka books and even faded photos can be a challenge as they come with sentiments attached to them. Many hesitate to give it away as they are considered sacred. To give it away or not is the question.
In Mylapore, an environment-friendly initiative helps deal with this dilemma.
The initiative is being brought to Chennai (Mylapore for starters) by Rotary Club of Bangalore, RT Nagar and Sri Kamakshi Aarsha Samskriti Trust, in association with TVR Subbi Chetty Vasantha Mandapam in Mylapore (venue partner) and Spreco (recycling partner).
The collection drive will be held on July 13 from 8.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. All items must be brought in sturdy cloth or jute bags, and a service fee of ₹300 per participant will be charged.
The organisers have conducted 16 such drives in Bengaluru so far, recovering 15 tonnes of materials. The collected materials are separated into different categories: the ones that are in good shape are cleaned and given a new lease of life. And the damaged materials will be given to the recycler in a process that has dignity and respect written all over it. Before any item is sent for recycling, a ritual called “Udvasana pooja” is performed.
“The crux of this process is that through puja we remove the divinity and merge it with the panchaboothas. This has been appreciated by many people as it gives a lot of solace to those wanting to give away sacred objects,” says Vasudha Sundar, founding member, Shri Kamakshi Aarsha Samskriti Trust.
Unlike regular collection drives, the organisers point out that such events are labour-intensive.
“Typically, a frame will have the image, glass in front, nails and MDF board. All these have to be sorted,” says Sowmya Raghavan, community services director, Rotary Club of Bangalore, RT Nagar.
The service charge is levied to meet various expenses including transportation, cost of labour, dakshina for the priest and rent for the venue.
Both Vasudha and Sowmya say finding material recovery facilities has been their biggest challenge while trying to expand the initiative to other cities. They welcome interested groups to carry forward the initiative in Chennai.
In Bengaluru, all the drives have taken place in temples. The drives also see a fair share of swapping of items happen, as there are people who would like to pick up something. A resale vendor is also on board to pick up gently used items that can be sold.
The organisers can be contacted through email on cpp.hebbal@gmail.com and skast.trust@gmail.com
Published – July 05, 2025 09:07 pm IST
