Udhvasana - Farewell to Divine photos and idols

What is this campaign all about?

We often see divine photos and idols abandoned under trees or left on the temple walls, faded and damaged due to exposure to weather elements. In some cases, people have collected these over the years and wonder how to part with them in a respectful way!

Udhvasana is a community-driven initiative successfully combined spiritual reverence with environmental responsibility.

The goal was to provide a practical avenue for the community to responsibly recycle old photographs, demonstrating the need for environmentally conscious waste disposal.

Group of people holding religious paintings in front of a temple.

Important Information about Udhvasana Pooja

Udhvasana Pooja is conducted by HSR Citizen Forum roughly once in 3 months. Last event was conducted on June 7, 2026.

Please bring your photos and idols on the day of the next event directly to the event venue. We unfortunately do not have provision to collect and store the items.

We are unable to accept couriers and would like your presence at the venue.

Please follow us on this website or @hsrcitizenforum Instagram page to stay updated about the next event!

Ushvasana Event Process

HCF Volunteers systematically gather discarded items from temples and public areas, and strategically placed collection boxes at popular HSR Layout temples.

The Udhvasana Event

Residents bring photos and idols they wish to bid farewell to, and often with gratitude for a respectful alternative to haphazard disposal.
A solemn Udhvaasana/Visarajana Pooja is performed, lending a spiritual aura and underscoring the community’s commitment to environmental sustainability.
‘sacred swap’ also happens, which enables participants to adopt preloved, often rare, divine items
Thousands of photos and idols are received on the day of Udhvasana pooja, all to be given a respectful farewell.

Recycling of photos and idols

The photos after the pooja are carefully dismantled by group of volunteers and sent to the right destination for recycling.
This work typically is labor intensive and takes up to 2-weeks
Our volunteers carefully go through every photo to make sure that the frames, glasses, card boards, nails and even stapler is removed and grouped so they reach the right recycling process.
The idols are grouped according to the category, if cleaned and polished so they can be re-homed. Others are sent for melting and metal recovery.

Udhvasana - Learnings for communities

Beyond the spiritual and communal aspects, the event serves as a practical learning session on responsible consumerism.
Picture frames, due to their construction, typically incorporate 8 to 10 distinct materials, often including various types of plastics, wood, metal, and adhesives. This complex material composition significantly complicates the recycling process, as each material requires separate processing.
Laminated picture frames were identified as non-recyclable due to the inseparable bonding of dissimilar materials.
POP (Plaster of Paris) idols often used in religious ceremonies, are often non-recyclable, which contribute to environmental contamination when discarded.
Collection and recycling of small pooja items, like incense holders and miniature statues, present unique logistical challenges due to their diverse materials and small size.
These lessons underscores the importance of minimalistic purchasing, selecting sustainable materials, and prioritizing reuse over buying new items, all in the interest of environmental preservation.