It will be a virtual celebration this year, says Maniesh
Usually, we have a packed house as my entire family — my mum and dad, my brother and sister are all here with us to celebrate Ganeshostav, but it won’t be the case this year due to Covid19. This time, it will be just Bappa and us,” says actor-host Maniesh Paul.
Paul will be taking precautions and has not invited any friends for the Ganeshostav celebrations at his house for two days. “It will be a virtual celebration this year. Friends and family will join us through video calls for aarti and darshan. I had to insist and thankfully, everyone understood that I have kids at home. Ek saal saath mein nahin manaya Ganeshostav, koi baat nahin, agle saal manaa lenge. Bappa hamare saath hai. Right now, we have to set an example and take all precautions and stay at home,” he says.
While preparations and décor will be low-key this year, he plans to prepare festive food on the occasion for the guards in his housing society. “We are making sure their lunches and dinners are delicious and they enjoy the festivities. They have been taking care of us 24x7 away from their families and have been staying in the building in these last few months, so it is
now our responsibility to look after them. I am going to enjoy some yummy food in these two days of celebration at our house and Sanyukta has been cooking a lot from savoury dishes,” Paul adds.
He has been celebrating the festival for the past 12 years and ensures he brings ecofriendly Ganesha idol. He is glad that his friends too have been inspired from him and bring eco-friendly idols. This year, his daughter, Saisha, has made a clay idol of Ganesha, and have planned for a bucket immersion.
“Our immersion is usually at home in a bucket. Once I remember, the size of the bucket was small as Bappa bade the. It was funny and we had to tilt and melt the idol bit by bit. Hamne use bhi enjoy kiya. Lagaa Bappa jaana hi nahin chah rahe hai (laughs),” he signs off.