Actor Amar Upadhyay, who has been bringing bappa home for 26 years now, shares that he is a "strong" believer of the deity. While talking to us on Ganesh Chaturthi, he says, "Every year is a big celebration, the feeling is always amazing to bring Ganpati home. Ganesh Chaturthi has always been special for me and my family. It's our favourite festival."
Ask him about the significance Ganesh ji has in his life and the 48-year-old expresses, "Our Pooja ritual in the house starts with Ganpati bappa every morning. Everybody has been praying to him everyday for so many years," he continues, "I am even a very strong believer of Siddhivinayak temple's bappa. We keep visiting if anything special happens in our life. We keep thanking him for blessing us with every step of our lives. He is with our family throughout and I strongly believe that."
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The actor shares that he welcomes eco-friendly Ganesha every year. "Whenever we used to go to Versova beach, we used to see POP Ganesha all broken and damaged in a bad state. I just wonder how people can be so insensitive with bappa. I believe that if you get eco-friendly Ganesha, he dissolves in the water. We have a big drum in the house, we do the visarjan there. The murti dissolves in one and a half hours. Everybody should follow the same at home," says Upadhyay.
{{/usCountry}}The actor shares that he welcomes eco-friendly Ganesha every year. "Whenever we used to go to Versova beach, we used to see POP Ganesha all broken and damaged in a bad state. I just wonder how people can be so insensitive with bappa. I believe that if you get eco-friendly Ganesha, he dissolves in the water. We have a big drum in the house, we do the visarjan there. The murti dissolves in one and a half hours. Everybody should follow the same at home," says Upadhyay.
{{/usCountry}}"We always look forward to this festival. You can meet people, socialise and go to their houses for pandal hopping. It is a good occasion to do that, otherwise people are so busy with their own lives," he further adds.
Pandal decoration at home is the most favourite part of the entire family. "My wife Hetal and daughter Chenab get fresh flowers decorations done, including tulips and olives as they last for around 6-7 days. We make gudd ka laddoo, people in my society just love it. Such small kids come for that homemade laddoo," Upadhyay wraps up.