Shiwani Chakraborty, who plays Meeta Kothari in Star Plus and Rajan Shahi’s Anupamaa, has made a mark with her performance in the popular drama. Off-screen, the actress recalls celebrating Durga Puja with her family in her hometown, Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh. She has fond memories of those childhood festivities when she would wake up early on Mahalaya, wear new clothes and take part in cultural programs.
For Shiwani, Durga Puja brings back memories of her mother waking the family up at 5 am on Mahalaya to listen to the programme on Doordarshan. Recalling those days, Shiwani said, “The very first memory that comes to my mind when I think of Durga Puja is from my hometown, Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh. There are lots of things to remember from my Durga Puja childhood memories. During Mahalaya, my mother used to wake us up at 5 am and ask us to get ready. Mahalaya used to air on TV, on Doordarshan, and that voice used to fill the whole house in the morning. Being a Bengali, we started from Shashthi, meaning the sixth day of Mahadurga’s establishment. We used to wait eagerly for the sixth day. We used to do so much shopping. We always made sure that we wore new clothes in the morning and evening from the 6th to the 10th day. We maintain that even now.”
She also remembers fighting with her siblings over clothes and helping organise cultural programmes for children in their community. Since there were few Bengali families in Khandwa, everyone gathered at one place for bhog, prasad and five days of celebrations.
“There are lots of memories. I miss the time we spent there back then with our people. All the years we celebrated Durga Puja in childhood, it was mind-blowing. Even today I miss that,” she added.
Shiwani now enjoys visiting Bengali pandals in Mumbai whenever she cannot celebrate in her hometown. Talking about it, the actress said, “Even now, if I am not going to my hometown and if I am in Mumbai only, I celebrate here also. It’s very interesting. I get a bit of Kolkata vibes of Bengali Durga Puja in Mumbai. Because here too, there are a lot of Bengali Pandals. Where Anjali, bhog, are done. For the past few years, I have been hopping around here only in Mumbai pandals, and I am choosy now because I mainly visit my friends’ places and the invites I get for Bengali puja.”
For Shiwani, even the tiredness after a long day of pandal hopping is part of the fun. “It’s a festival full of happiness and vibes. I also love that tiredness in the end. I love the tiredness that is there when you return home from the pandal. But it’s worth it. So, I love to go and love to enjoy hopping.”
