15,000km from home, Indian scientists celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi in Antarctica with snow Bappa

Dubai: Indian scientists marked Ganesh Chaturthi in an extraordinary way this year, creating a Lord Ganesha idol entirely from snow at India’s Maitri research station in Antarctica.

Researchers from the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) came together to celebrate the festival thousands of kilometres from India, turning the icy surroundings into the setting for a unique festive gathering.

Anirudh Dhar, a doctor stationed at the Maitri research station, shared a video of the celebrations on Instagram.

Snow Bappa in Antarctica

The video shows the scientists carefully shaping snow into an idol of Lord Ganesha before the celebrations begin. The group performed an aarti (ritual worship) around the snow idol before carrying it out for visarjan (immersion).

The post described the celebration as an “eco-friendly immersion” and said the team was marking the festival 15,000km away from home.

“Our handmade snow Bappa is about as sustainable as it can get. Ganpati Bappa Morya!” the caption said, crediting Arvind Hosalkar and Kartik P for creating the snow idol.

The celebrations continued with the scientists sharing modaks, a traditional sweet associated with Lord Ganesha.

The unusual celebration offered the researchers a chance to maintain a connection with a cherished Indian festival while stationed in one of the world’s most remote and challenging environments.

India’s Maitri station, operated under the country’s Antarctic research programme, serves as a base for scientific research in the region.