Actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra marked her family's 17th consecutive year of welcoming Lord Ganesha home this Ganesh Chaturthi with a meaningful upgrade — a paper mache idol, the latest step in a decade-long shift away from environmentally harmful materials. The celebration, held at her Mumbai residence, blended devotion with a clear ecological message for her followers and the next generation alike.

From Plaster of Paris to Paper Mache

Sharing a video of the festivities, Shilpa Shetty Kundra wrote: 'Our 17th year of welcoming Ganpati Bappa home with faith, love and devotion. Over the last decade, we consciously moved from Plaster of Paris to CLAY, and this year, took another step, our Bappa was made with PAPER MACHE. YES, it takes more care and effort, but that's what we owe not just to God, but to the environment "He" has blessed us with.'

The progression — from Plaster of Paris to clay and now paper mache — reflects a growing awareness among urban households about the environmental cost of festival traditions. Plaster of Paris idols are non-biodegradable and release toxic chemicals during immersion, a concern that environmentalists and courts have flagged repeatedly over the years.

An Eco-Friendly Workshop for Children

Beyond her own household, the actress took the initiative a step further by hosting an eco-friendly Ganpati workshop for children as part of this year's celebrations. In her post, she wrote: 'This year, we celebrated faith with responsibility and held an eco-friendly Ganpati workshop for children, instilling these values that we hope they carry forward.'

The video shared by Shilpa shows her children actively participating in crafting eco-friendly Ganesha idols — a hands-on effort to pass down values of environmental stewardship alongside religious tradition. Notably, the clip also captures the family's rituals and puja, with Shilpa dressed in a traditional outfit alongside her husband Raj Kundra.

The Celebrations: Welcome and Farewell

The family welcomed their Bappa home on 13 September, with the idol installed amid prayers and festive rituals. Two days later, on 15 September, the family performed the Ganpati Visarjan — the immersion ceremony — bidding an emotional farewell to the deity.

For the visarjan, Shilpa was seen wearing a traditional Maharashtrian yellow-and-pink saree, joining her family in the final prayers before dancing joyfully to the beats of the dhol. The video captures both the solemnity of the farewell rituals and the celebratory energy that has come to define the family's annual Ganpati tradition.

A Broader Trend in Celebrity Eco-Consciousness

The Shetty Kundra family's shift mirrors a wider movement among Mumbai's film fraternity and urban festival-goers to adopt greener practices during Ganesh Chaturthi. Several Bollywood celebrities and public figures have, in recent years, championed clay or biodegradable idols, home immersion in buckets, and reduced use of single-use plastics during the ten-day festival. Shilpa's public documentation of this transition over 17 years lends it a credibility that one-off gestures often lack.

As awareness around river and coastal pollution grows, the actress's approach offers a template that balances religious observance with ecological responsibility — one that her children's workshop suggests she intends to carry well into the next generation.