Ganesh Chaturthi Special: Akriti Kakar opens up about Ganpati celebrations at home!

It’s been six years that Saturday Saturday (Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania) singer Akriti Kakar is getting Lord Ganesh home every Ganesh Chaturthi. Talking about what inspired the Delhi girl to immerse herself in the Mumbai’s quintessential tradition, she says, “I always wanted to do it since the time I came to Mumbai. I grew up in Delhi. There wasn’t much of a celebration like Mumbai celebrates this festival.From the time I came here I have been visiting my friends for darshan at their home. We used to enjoy bhajan evenings, impromptu jamming sessions, lots of love and laughter and of course gorging on the prasad. I used to literally make a long list of all the homes I need to visit for darshan during these 5-10 days. It felt the most beautiful time of the year and it only inspired me to get Ganesha home for a more personal experience.”
Talking about the celebrations at her place, Akriti says that the whole family gets together in order to bring in eco-friendliness to the festivities. She shares, “From the first year itself we have either been making our own idol at home or getting a readymade tree Ganesha. For the first year my mother spent over a month making a papier-mâché Ganpati herself. We decorated the idol with jewels and clothes stitched by us and he did look so adorable! My mom made 1000 roses with paper and that’s what we created our decor with. The following year the whole family sat down making multicolour paper pinwheels for our decor. Last three years we’ve been using real flowers for the decorations, and I personally make the designs.”
On the special occasion, Akriti says that food is much focused up on in the Kakkar household. “Since the time we booked our Ganpati idol months ago, the conversation around the menu began (Laughs!). We start our sthapana with a hawan early morning where we make kadha parshad, meethe peele chawal with kesar and dry fruits, and nariyal laddoos (naru, a Bengali mithai) using gur in the shape of modaks. All our friends ask us, ‘iss baar menu mein kya hai’? While those being the sweets, we have a huge spread of main course consisting of dishes like Amritsari chole, stuffed kulche, rajma chawal, navratna korma, chaat and dum vegetable biryani. Well there is a lot to look forward to.”
Just like the last year, this year too Kakkar’s are keeping the festivities a little low-key. Akriti signs off saying, “Usually, our home becomes an open house for guests for bappa’s darshan. Though this year, it’ll be restricted to only a select few friends. We have to ensure safety of the older people in the house in times of the pandemic and so all precautions are being taken care of.”