It’s a very busy day at the Panday household, with all the prep underway for Bappa’s arrival, when we pay a visit for this exclusive shoot with Ananya Panday.
Her mother, Bhavana Panday, father Chunky, nani Chitra Khosla- everyone is talking excitedly, and are more than happy giving their inputs for the shoot. And in comes Ananya, wearing a purple and golden saree. Everyone chants “Ganpati Bappa Morya”, and we settle down for a chat as soon as the pictures are done, helping ourselves to a spread of sandwiches, patties and coffee.
“Ganeshotsav has always been my favourite festival,” exclaims the 24-year-old, “When I was young, we would celebrate this at school, and I would go to my friends’ house. I always felt a connection with Bappa, he used to be my mobile wallpaper at one point. I always felt very calm looking into his eyes. I would ask my mum as a child ‘when would be bring him home’ every year, to which she would reply ‘when you are responsible enough to do all the rituals yourself’.”
And that finally happened in the year 2018, when the actor started shooting for her debut film Student Of The Year 2. “She said ‘You are ready now’ Now I think it’s going to be a generational ritual of bringing him home. It’s our fifth year this time,” adds Ananya, who also takes care of the decor and preparations.
{{/usCountry}}And that finally happened in the year 2018, when the actor started shooting for her debut film Student Of The Year 2. “She said ‘You are ready now’ Now I think it’s going to be a generational ritual of bringing him home. It’s our fifth year this time,” adds Ananya, who also takes care of the decor and preparations.
{{/usCountry}}They have made sure that the idol they welcome home is eco-friendly, and they keep him for one and a half days, given the schedules they all have. “But in that period, there is always someone around, they sleep in the same room, Bappa’s meals come on time. We feed him before we eat,” she shares.
The conscious choice to keep their idol eco-friendly also makes Panday feel relaxed. “In fact now even firecrackers have been banned (in Delhi) We need to adhere to these rules the world is our home. Our visarjan happens in a special drum in our house, and it’s done from the hall till the balcony. We play all the visarjan songs and dance. Then after the visarjan, we put the water in our plants, so there's a piece of Bappa with us the entire year,” she beams.