Television stars say mangal murti to Lord Ganesha
GITA HARI
Call him by any name — Ganpati, Gajamukh, Gajanana, Lambodara — Lord Ganesha is the first among all Gods. All prayers start with an invocation to him.
Little wonder then, devotees celebrate the festival Ganeshotsav, (which started from September 7 this year) with much pomp in Maharashtra. Pandals are erected and idols installed at an auspicious time.
Ganapati also happens to be the favourite God of some of our TV stars. Almost all of them visit Siddhivinayak temple regularly. Among the Maharashtrians, the ‘sthapana’ (installation) is normally done in any house of
the family tree. Actor Sachin Pilgaonkar opines that since certain rituals have to be followed religiously on bringing home the idol, he with his family opt to visit his uncle’s place where the Ganesha idol is installed for pooja. “This festival is predominant in Pune. Even otherwise, I often go visit the Siddhivinayak temple with my wife Supriya and daughter Shriya who’s very fond of Ganpati Bappa. We make it a point to visit mandals, especially Lalbaug ka Raja. I love the prasad ukdi se modak and simply gorge on them,” he adds.
Sai Deodhar is another typical Maharashtrian who loves her Ganesha. When she was young, she recalls it was customary to visit her uncle’s place in Pune, but later, she reveals, “I was so adamant that my parents had to give in and since then we’ve always had the pooja at home. This year I went to my parents’ place to celebrate the festival. But from next year, I intend to have the mangal murti at my own home too.” But as of now, she is preparing to take her in-laws (actor Shakti Anand’s parents) who’ve come down from Delhi, to witness the visarjan (immersion).
Vikas Bhalla has been getting the Ganesha idol home for the past eight years. “It’s something very close to my heart,” he says. Ekta Kapoor is also another big bhakt of Ganesha, and the Kapoor clan get the idol at home every single year. For her, though, it is not limited only to the festival, as she goes to Siddhivinayak temple on every Tuesday.
Manasi Joshi Roy too is a collector of the icon as she believes in his benevolence and says, “My daughter Kiara calls him Ganu. No, we don’t observe the pooja at home, but visit Ronit’s (Roy) place.” One doesn’t need to be a Maharashtrian, but a Mumbaikar at heart, to bring home the deity and Bong actor Ronit Roy proves the point by observing all the rituals and inviting his friends and colleagues. He says, “This was my second year of bringing home Ganpati. The day after Chaturthi, we immersed the idol at Juhu beach.”Another non-Maharashtrian, but an avid worshipper and collector of Ganesha idols is Manish K Goyal who had a huge idol brought home in his new MUV. Well attended by the star cast of Bhabhi and Kkusum, including Neelu Kohli, Shilpa and Apurva Agnihotri, the highlight was when Mona Kapoor (ex Mrs Boney Kapoor) paid a visit. “My mom came from Delhi to attend this festival. It was a great moment when my rakhi sister Richa Sharma (singer of Rasiya from Mangal Pandey) sang a prayer,” says an excited Manish. Sumeet Raghavan aka Saahil Sarabhai who is a South Indian married to a Maharashtrian, usually goes to Pune to take part in the festivities at his in-laws’ place. As he puts it, “Having been born and raised in Mumbai, Ganesh Utsav is very close to my heart and I would love to have Ganpati at home, but for our working schedules (his wife is a theatre actor). My kids go ballistic visiting pandals and I plan to take them to Lalbaug this year,” he says.
Another Southie is Indira Krishnan, who played Ayushman’s mother in the serial Ayishman, married to a Maharashtrian who participates in the ritual at her in-laws’ residence. But she’s quick to add, “Though we didn’t install the idol, I performed pooja at my home and prepared modak (sweet dumplings), before visiting my inlaws.” Uday Tikekar, the priest in Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin, goes to his brother’s house to partake in the festivities and believes in donating to an orphanage in Nasik rather than funding Sarvajanik mandals. On the thirteenth day, when it’s time to bid adieu to Ganapati Bappa, tears roll down many eyes as he is invoked to return soon next year!
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