We look at Goddess Gauri as a special guest: Prajakta Koli on celebrating Gauri Pujan the Koli way

Prajakta Koli celebrates Jyeshtha Gauri Pujan, the Koli way. The actor shares some of her fond memories and more

With the fervour of Ganeshotsav unfurling across Maharashtra, Prajakta Koli is also celebrating Jyeshtha Gauri Pujan. The three-day festival from September 17 to 19 sees families welcome Goddess Gauri into their homes, and for the content creator-actor, the tradition has spanned generations.

We look at Goddess Gauri as a special guest: Prajakta Koli on celebrating Gauri Pujan the Koli way

“My father’s grandmother had asked for some mannat, decades ago. And when the mannat was fulfilled, they brought home the Gauri idol. That’s how the tradition of Gauri Pujan began at our home. When my parents decided to bring back Gauri to our household 21 years ago, it was not for a mannat but with only one thought: We want to do this in our house and we want to bring that tradition back,” she tells us.

Being from the Koli community, her family’s Gauri tradition differs from those followed in some other communities. “I am from the Koli community, and in the Kolis, Gauri Pooja is very different from a lot of the other communities where we actually have a life-size idol that we pray to,” she explains. In her family, the Gauri is known as Navsachi Gauri or Mannatwali Gauri. The main idol stays at home and is used every year, while a makeshift idol made from plants is used for visarjan. “We look at the Goddess as one very special guest who’s coming home for a day-and-a-half and then she goes,” she says.

For Koli, some of her strongest memories are rooted in the preparations. “From Gauri aagman, to pooja followed by the visarjan, my childhood memories are filled with the preparations that we did while growing up. Decoration kya banayenge, early morning 4-4.30 Baba will go to the fish market and I would excitedly tag along with him.” The fish bought there becomes part of the prasad. “Because we’re Kolis, we always eat fish at home. Mamma makes the fish all year round. It’s the same recipe, it’s the same fish that’s served to her but there’s something about it. It tastes different. There’s something about this bhog that ends up becoming the yummiest meal of the whole year,” she says.

The festival also brings together her extended circle, with the family hosting friends and relatives for maha prashad. “Every year I look forward to the newer people who I have met through the year to come and do this darshan and it’s very special for me,” she says. In Koliwada, the celebrations take on a communal character. “In teen dinon mein sabke gharon ke darwaze 24 ghante khule hote hain. Because you are welcome to come anytime and do the darshan. It’s a communal kind of festival,” she says.

This year marks Prajakta’s first Gauri Pujan after her marriage to legal professional Vrishank Khanal. While the couple have their own home now, they are celebrating the festival with her family at her parents’ home. “I still look at it as my home, and my husband and I will be celebrating with my family,” she says. Another tradition she continues to look forward to is wearing a thushi passed down through generations. “My mother’s great-grandmother made one. And then she wore it, my grandmother wore it, my mumma wore it and every year at Gauri I end up wearing it.”