MUMBAI : 1. Do you celebrate by bringing a Ganpati idol at home? How lavish do you go with your celebrations in terms of decor or sweets
Yes, I do bring an idol of Lord Ganesh at my house every year during Ganesh Chaturthi and I usually keep Bappa for 7 days. This is going to be my 11th year celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi at home. I am not sure if it can be termed lavish, but every year I introduce a very colourful and vibrant theme to welcome Bappa whenever he comes. I try my level best to decorate the mandap as beautifully as I can.
2. A special dish / thing you create on this festival
When it comes to making the Bhog and the Laddus, my mother handles it all and very effortlessly and makes a few variants of Ladoos and other mithai along with Chole Kulche and other Ganpati special food items. Almost every cuisine a Delhiite can dream of, my mother makes it all for Ganpati Bappa around this time of the year. Also, like every year, all excess food made for the festivities will be donated to people in need. The special dish that my mom makes which is served to Bappa is Laddoo and Till Ki Barfi along with Chole Bhature.
3. Fondest memories of this festival
I have way too many fond memories around this festival. Every year since the first time I brought Bappa home, several family members and friends would come over for Darshan and they have been continuously visiting us over the last 11 years to take part in the festivities with us. I am extremely grateful that my friendships with them have remained intact over the years, after all this festival is all about getting together with family and old friends and making new ones too.
4. Since the celebrations this year are a little subdued, what are you going to miss the most
Since a global pandemic is hovering over us during this season of festivities and the enthusiasm is much lower compared to other years, we have also kept the spirit and grandeur of the celebration a little mellow this year. We’re celebrating the festival as modestly as we can but what I’m going to miss the most is the Visarjan part because that is when everyone has the most amount of fun. We all look forward to it because the environment is so full of warmth and energy, it is bound to give anyone that kick to join in on all the fun. The energy is unbelievable and I’m going to miss immersing Bappa in our own traditional way
5. Ganesh Chaturthi plans
My Ganesh Chaturthi plans mostly includes doing a Ghar ki Puja. We have made a special to whosoever comes at our door during this season of festivities to not bring any flowers or any eatables and instead bring stationary that we could distribute amongst the less fortunate children who need it the most. This is a small-scale initiative that I have taken during Ganesh Chaturthi to give back to the world and I would gladly do it at any given time of the year whenever I have an opportunity to. I feel it’s an extremely noble deed because children who cannot afford books and stationery need our help to build a future.
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