I have been bringing Ganpatiji home since 2009. I am from Delhi and shifted to Mumbai in 2005, but they say Ganpati jab aane hote hai tab aate hai. So, it was four years after I came to Mumbai that I started keeping Ganpati.
It was my wife Sanyukta who suggested it. I was shooting when she called me and said why don’t we bring Ganpati and that too, an eco-friendly one. Even I had been thinking about it and immediately said yes. The reason being, I wouldn’t like to go dancing on the streets for the visarjan and the next day, find idols lying on the road. It is a horrible sight. Instead, we immerse the idol at home and pour the water on the plants in our building.
Ganpati is a huge celebration for us. My entire family from Delhi comes down. My wife is very big on decorations. In fact, she has designed the interiors of our new house. For Ganesha, we do a lot of flower decorations and lighting as both my wife and I are fond of it.
My mother is a brilliant cook and being a Punjabi, there is a lot of emphasis on food during the festivities. We have several delicacies and me being a paneer bhakt, woh toh banta hi hai. I love kheer and halwa made by my mother, so I forget my diet for two days and gorge on the sweets.
I make it a point to take two days off for the festival as we keep Ganpati for a day and a half. Last year, I remember the Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa shoot was clashing with the festival, but I told the channel that I wouldn’t be there and to shoot without me. I told the judges (Madhuri Dixit, Remo D’Souza, Karan Johar) main toh Ganpatiji se panga loonga nahi, aapko lena hai toh lo, but they were all sweet and cancelled the shoot. The entire team came to my house instead. I love people coming to my house, as they bring a positive vibe.
I appreciate dna’s eco-Ganesha initiative. It is our contribution to protecting the environment and I hope many will emulate it.
—As told to Chaya Unnikrishnan
