Family builds Ganesha statue out of 4,500 Tic Tacs

A family has celebrated the Hindu festival of Ganesh Chaturthi in a unique way by building a statue of Lord Ganesha out of Tic Tacs.

The statue's body is made of clay and approximately 4,500 of the miniature mints, all of which were individually stuck on by hand.

Ganesh Chaturthi is a 10-day festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed god of wisdom.

Bhavini Shah, her husband Chetan and family friends spent more than 132 hours between them piecing the statue together as part of their celebrations in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire.

The Shah family moved from India to the UK in 2004, initially settling in Luton before later moving to Nottinghamshire.

Creating unique statues of Lord Ganesha had become an annual tradition for the family, with this year marking their fifth design using unconventional materials - previous versions have been made using potatoes and biscuits.

Bhavini said the idea began when their children Nisarg and Shlok were young and the family wanted to help them stay connected to their Hindu culture.

"Coming from India and living in this country, we wanted our children to understand the culture and be involved in the celebrations," she said.

"We thought the best way to do that was through a hands-on experience."

The family initially bought ready-made Ganesha statues and decorated them at home, before progressing to making their own clay sculptures.

Each year, the family brainstorms new design ideas and materials. Previous creations have incorporated rice, grains and coloured flour. They also considered using pearls, but ruled them out because they are not biodegradable.

"We wanted something white and attractive," Bhavini said. "We thought about mint balls, but they were too big, so we settled on Tic Tacs."

Bhavini recruited family friends and their children to help build the clay statue before attaching thousands of the mints by hand. The intricate process presented a number of challenges.

"We started with the model and positioning of the statue," she said. "Once we had achieved that, we experimented with cutting the Tic Tacs in half to see what looked best.

"At one point we were running out on a weekend when shops were closing early, so my job was to run around buying more whenever we needed them.

"There was also the mess from the glue gun and a few burns along the way."

Rajesh Sharma, chairman of the Nottingham Hindu Temple, said the statue perfectly encapsulated what the celebration of Lord Ganesha is all about.

"It's a superb way of remembering Ganesha, and it's not something you would ordinarily see made from Tic Tacs. Top marks for initiative, really. The likeness is uncanny and very impressive," he said.

"The key thing is that when Hindus pray to Ganesha, they pray for wisdom, prosperity and the removal of obstacles.

"I think those obstacles have definitely been overcome in making this statue. There must have been many moments when the family thought about giving up, but they persevered.

"I've never personally seen anything like it before, and I don't think we'll see anything similar again for quite some time."

Sharma added that the mint based Ganesha would be a welcome addition to the Nottingham Hindu Temple.

"We'd certainly have to make room for it. It would leave a lovely minty-fresh scent around the temple as well."

At the end of the celebrations, the statue will be dissolved in water to symbolise Ganesha's return to his heavenly abode and the cyclical nature of life.

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