‘I enjoyed garba on devotional songs’

Actor Dilip Joshi reminisces his childhood Navratri days when the festival meant performing garba on live dhol and shehnai.

For Dilip Joshi, the nine-day long Navratri festival brings back memories of his childhood in Gujarat. The actor recollects how the lane leading to his home would be decorated with buntings and flowers. “The preparation for Navratri would begin 15 days prior to the festival. In fact, everyone would voluntarily help decorate the area and participate in arrangements. Sometimes, we would have to send people back because there was so much of help,” laughs Joshi.

For Dilip Joshi, the nine-day long Navratri festival brings back memories of his childhood in Gujarat(HTPHOTO)

However, things have changed over the years and he admits to missing those old festival days. “We never had film songs playing during garba. We would dance to live dhol and shehnai. The essence of live music is something these speakers cannot replace. I remember performing garba during Mataji’s bhajans. And, we used to have a great time. There were no time limits, we would start only after 10pm and the programmes would go on till 2am to 3am. I would be the first one to go home as I was the only one who had early morning school,” says Joshi.

Joshi, who began his career as a child artiste in theatre, will be visiting Pune on September 29 as a celebrity guest at Raasleela Dandiya Night. “Pune is one of my most favourite places for so many reasons. As a child, during the ’70s, I would visit the city after Diwali for the Jalaram Jayanti held in Devachi Alandi. It would be three days of non-stop fun and devotion. This was followed by my theatre performances, many years later, at Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir and Tilak Smarak Mandir. Even today, if I drive down to Pune, I first stop at Ramakant Vadewale for Vada Pav, then visit Dagdusheth temple for blessings and then roam the city looking for misal pav and vada pav.”

The actor is currently busy with his television show and misses theatre as time does not permit him to take it up. “I have rejected a few film offers too as shooting for the serial takes up most of my time.”

Catch it live
What: Raasleela Dandiya Night
Where: Vardhaman Lawns, next to Ganga Dham
When: September 29, 6.30pm onwards