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Janmashtami 2024 | Deepika Singh, Charu Asopa, Addite Malik on values they hope their children imbibe from Krishna-Radha
On Janmashtami today, celebs share the values of devotion, justice and love that they would like their children to imbibe from Radha and Krishna.
The tradition of dressing up your little ones as Shri Krishna and his dear companion Radha to celebrate Janmashtami goes back a long way. We have actors sharing how it’s like at their household and the values of devotion, justice and love that they would like their children to imbibe from Radha and Krishna.
Deepika Singh
My mother-in-law cooks a feast on Janmashtami. I tell my son Soham that Krishna ji ka janm raat 12 baje hua tha, how he is known as Makhanchor, and a lot of other stories. It’s a challenge to make him wear the dress but I try to keep him busy with drawing books while I dress him up. I always teach him about the life of Krishna ji, especially his bond with his childhood friend Sudama. I tell him to never differentiate between any of his playmates or treat anyone differently. And he seems to have imbibed this within himself!
Charu Asopa
Every year on Janmashtami, we dress up our Laddu Gopal ji and decorate his aasan. Hum raat 12 baje bhog lagaate hain and dance karke celebrate karte hain. I’ve taught all these things to Ziana, that we are celebrating Krishna ji’s birthday. I dress her up on every festival, so it goes for Janmashtami, too. Usey bhi sajne ka bahut shauk hai; and I got her Radha Rani dress made a few days in advance. I want to instil the quality of pure love in Ziana from Radha Rani. She should have boundless love for her family and loved ones.
Pankhuri Awasthy
Raditya and Radhya are very young at the moment but seeing festivals being celebrated at home is how children pick up. I am sure they will grow and understand the significance of it and what learnings to take away. For us, it’s a very gradual process of making them understand what our culture and religion is. Dressing them up as Radha and Krishna has its own challenges, like they don’t want you to hold them for too long. But they look so cute in those clothes, crowns and jewellery. I try to get the softest outfit for them. The biggest thing about Shri Krishna is his righteousness; I would want my children to imbibe that quality, which basically is differentiating between right and wrong. And from Radha ji, to be loving to everybody around you. Natkhat they already are, so that I don’t have to worry about!
Addite Malik
It’s not just us who want to make Ekbir wear Shri Krishna’s attire — he has been enthusiastic to dress up, too. And it’s a challenge because he is very particular; I got his approval for the dress in advance this year! Ekbir curiously asks questions now and we keep explaining to him about the spirit of the festival, the way we celebrate and understand Janmashtami. For us, Krishna is our life’s philosophy and more than just a deity. The values of Krishna that Mohit (Malik, husband; actor) and I believe in is serving others and unconditional love, without expecting nothing in return. We would want to inculcate this quality in Ekbir.
