Pankaj Tripathi misses home on Chhath, reveals how the festival helped him begin his acting journey

Actor Pankaj Tripathi gets nostalgic as he talks about celebrating Chhath puja in his village in his younger days.

As devotees celebrated Chhath puja over the weekend, Bollywood also joined them in wishing fans for the festival. While Manoj Bajpayee and Hrithik Roshan wished fans on Twitter, actor Pankaj Tripathi talked about his younger days and how it was a play around Chhath puja through which he began his acting journey.

Pankaj Tripathi talks about celebrating Chhath Puja in his village.

Remembering his childhood during Chhath Puja, Pankaj Tripathi told Hindustan, “I got to understand that the festival celebrates nature, pretty late. My mom used to observe the fast and I remember how everything was pure and pristine for the festival. The folk songs for Chhath have their own significance. I remember we were not at good terms with my uncle but my mom would take everyone’s name in the songs and seek blessings, food and wealth for all.”

“Our entire village would gather around the Gandki river for the arghya. We used to perform plays on the last day of the festival. Raghav Sharan Tiwari wrote and directed those plays. I was just nine year old when I first acted on stage. It was one of these plays during Chhath that Pankaj Tripathi’s journey started,” he revealed about his first acting experience.

Manoj Bajpyee also tweeted his wishes for the festival, “Chhath puja ki hardik shubhkaamnaayein aur badhaaiyaan. Jai Chhathi Maiyya.”

Actor Hrithik Roshan also took extra time from his schedule to meet and greet fans at a Chhath ghat in Mumbai and has shared a picture from his visit on Twitter. Sharing the picture, Hrithik wrote, “Happy Chhath Puja to all the devotees who are undergoing the tough rituals of this great festival. Sending my love to all of you and my thanks to those who took a moment to interact with me at the beach today.”

Hrithik played Bihari mathematician Anand Kumar in his recent film, Super 30, and seems to have quite a bit about the state’s culture. Earlier, he had also tried speaking Bhojpuri.

Chhath is a three-day-long festival where devotees worship the setting and the rising Sun, seeking blessings for the family. It is mainly observed in Bihar and parts of Uttar Pradesh.

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