This generous couple is giving away hundreds of FREE Green Ganesha clay idols in the GTA

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Holding a rubber mold in her hand, she pulled soft clay from her little handbag and began shaping it inside the mold. Within minutes, a beautiful Ganesha idol took form. Although it seemed simple, this honed skill of sculpting idols in a few minutes reflects a deep commitment to spirituality and sustainability.

Meet Neha Pandey and Hari Rishi Bahadur, a young couple living in Burlington who have perfected the art of creating beautiful, eco-friendly Ganesha idols in minutes. This is part of their generous mission to distribute free, eco-friendly Ganesha idols in the community.

What sets Neha and Rishi apart is not just the countless hours they’ve spent meticulously crafting these idols but also their personal financial commitment—approximately $3,200 so far—without expecting anything in return.

“Selling Ganpati idols never aligned with our values. We don’t judge those who do, but for us, this activity is sacred, and we never wanted to commercialize it.”

This marks the fourth year that Neha and Rishi have been giving away free idols in the Greater Toronto Area. Their journey began in 2020, when they moved from Atlanta and longed for the handmade clay Ganesha models they had cherished back home. Inspired by their experience in Atlanta, Neha set out to recreate the free Clay Ganesha campaign in Canada.

In 2021, they ordered their first Ganesha molds from India, sourced local clay and carefully molded their idols. They repeated the initiative in 2022, and soon, word began to spread. By 2023, they had distributed 250 free Ganesha idols. This year, they have already given away 1,200 idols across the Greater Toronto Area.

Remarkably, this entire initiative has been self-funded, with no formal charity organization or external financial support. Despite this, the community has stepped up in various ways—mold providers have offered materials at cost, volunteers have eagerly joined the effort, and food donations have flowed in to support those involved.

The mission has rubbed off on their two children, an 11-year-old daughter and a young son, have been raised with the values of selflessness and service. “People bring flowers, crayons and other tokens of appreciation, but we don’t accept anything,” they explain.

For Neha and Rishi, the most rewarding aspect of their mission has been the overwhelming gratitude from the community. One family from Markham, who had exclusively used clay Ganesha idols for years, was deeply moved by the initiative. Learning about the free distribution drive, they showered the couple with blessings, expressing their joy at returning to their true tradition after 15 years—all thanks to Neha and Rishi.

Last year, a devotee named Ajay Rana from the Vaishnodevi temple helped expand the initiative. This year, he and his wife, Deepshikha Arora, opened their home to facilitate the distribution drive. Their generous contributions of time and food helped prepare hundreds of idols for pickup.

Another dedicated volunteer, Pavan Gaaru from Milton, has spent countless hours training, making and distributing idols. His unwavering commitment has significantly contributed to the expansion of the initiative. Ajay and Pavan are now core members of the team, and along with other volunteers, they plan to expand distribution to more than 10 locations across Toronto and the GTA in 2025.

Beyond the donations and expressions of gratitude, the true impact of this initiative is its environmental contribution—preventing 2,200 pounds of plaster of Paris from polluting Ontario’s lakes. Rishi highlights that plaster of Paris does not dissolve in water and can cause long-term pollution in rivers, ponds and lakes, leading to stagnation and blockages in natural water flow.

The couple is still accepting requests for this year’s idols in preparation for Ganesh Sthapna on Friday, Sept. 6. Requests can be submitted through the SignUpGenius form linked below.

A humble request from Neha

“Please sign up ONLY if you are certain you can pick up your idol. A great deal of volunteer effort goes into procuring clay, making idols and storing them—not to mention the associated costs. Please respect the hard work behind this initiative.

“Additionally, these idols are strictly for Ganpati Sthapna and puja. Kindly do not collect them for any other purpose. Please adhere to your chosen pickup slots.”

About the Ganpati idol

For those new to this initiative, the idols are free of cost, approximately 6 inches tall and made of air-dry clay, which dissolves in water within five minutes after visarjan. The idols are not colored, but they can be painted using acrylic paints. However, Neha strongly recommends leaving them unpainted, as the chemicals in the paint could harm aquatic ecosystems.

Sign-up link:
https://www.signupgenius.com/index.cfm?go=w.manageSignUp#/51078093/share/