Ganesh Visarjan in Antarctica: Scientists make snow idol, perform eco-friendly immersion

He also credited his teammates for making the idol.

From puja to immersion

The video shows team members carefully sculpting the idol and later gathering around it for puja and aarti. Even in the remote Antarctic setting, the celebrations included familiar traditions, with the team offering prasad and modaks.

The most unusual part came during the idol’s immersion. Rather than carrying the idol outside or taking it to a conventional immersion spot, the researchers placed the snow Ganesh in a bucket of water inside the station.

The idol gradually melted, turning back into water and bringing the celebration to a natural end.

Watch the video:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Anirudh Dhar (@anirudhdhar)

In the comments, he said he experienced his first immersion despite spending years near one of Mumbai’s most famous Ganesh idols. “Despite spending 3 years next to Lalbaug cha Raja at Parel, I had to travel 15,000 kms to attend my first Visarjan.”

‘Environmentally friendly’

The celebration resonated with social media users, who praised the researchers for finding a simple way to observe the festival in such a remote and challenging environment.

Several also appreciated the use of snow, which allowed the idol to melt away without creating the waste associated with conventional immersions.

“Super adorable visarjan, needs true devotion fr such pooja in harsh conditions,” one user commented.

“At least the Ganpati is made of snow so is environmentally friendly for visarjan,” wrote another.

“Finally a true festival in foreign country without unnecessary opulence….jai ganesh,” a third user added.