Pankaj Tripathi Reflects on Ganesh Chaturthi: A Celebration of Roots and Resilience

Pankaj Tripathi shares how Ganesh Chaturthi, a festival he embraced in Mumbai, now symbolizes both celebration and resilience amid personal loss.

shivani Poli September 12, 2024

239 2 minutes read

Pankaj Tripathi’s Ganesh Chaturthi Journey: From Quiet Celebrations in Bihar to Vibrant Festivities in Mumbai, Embracing Tradition and Personal Healing

Actor Pankaj Tripathi, originally hailing from Bihar, narrates his changing perspective towards Ganesh Chaturthi, a festival closely associated with his migration from Bihar to Mumbai. Ganesh Chaturthi, according to Tripathi was not a very grand affair in Bihar and there was not much pomp that the festival has now in Maharashtra where he grew up, Some of the ways his childhood, Tripathi remembers: “My mother used to fast and some rituals like puja and aarti were performed but that was more or less it. About the grandeur of Ganesh Chaturthi, the memories.

Notably, watching the celebrations of Ganesh Chaturthi for the first time in Mumbai has been a great new look to Tripathi’s experience of this ceremony. He can recall his daughter, “When she was young, she used to cry thinking that Bappa was going away But for me, it has become my karm bhoomi – the place which brought me closer to Ganpati Bappa. ”

This year, Tripathi is celebrating the festival rigorously by remaining at home for all the seven days of Ganesh Chaturthi which started from 7th September. He said, “Earlier, I could give only the sthapana and visarjan days because of my profession but this year I get to celebrate with family every day.” The Tripathi family feeds roughly 50 people daily, either lunch or dinner on banana plantain leaves and distribute home made prasadam. “We have even adopted collective celebration as all members of society get to rejoice together,” says Shukri.