Feel blessed to be working on Poila Boishakh: Rupali Ganguly

"In the morning, I will do my regular puja and after that, I will be on the sets for the entire day. Work is worship and I feel blessed to be working on Poila Boishakh. It’s Maa’s blessing that she has given me work that requires me on an everyday basis. I will seek blessings from elders, and uss ke baad kaam shuru karungi. Aashirwaad bhi mil jayega, shagun bhi ho jayega—ki maine New Year ke din kaam kiya. Yeh bahut badi baat hai,” says Rupali Ganguly, talking about her Noboborsho (Bengali New Year) plans. Excerpts from a chat with the Anupamaaactress:‘I love playing the shankh in the morning’I have some very fond childhood memories of celebrating Poila Boishakh with my family. We would wake up very early and do puja. I love playing the shankh in the morning. There was a lot of excitement about wearing new clothes, which I love to do even today. Ideally, I love wearing garad sari, laal paar sari, but that’s not always possible due to time constraints. I also wear shakha pola and sindoor on this day. As a Bengali, it’s a must for any married woman. Zindagi ki bhaag daud mein kaafi kuch peeche chhoot jaata hai, par koshish karti hoon ki jitna ho sake unhe sambhal ke rakhu, apne bachpan se baandh ke rakhu. ‘Eating authentic Bengali food is a must’Eating authentic Bengali food is a must during this time of the year. Just recently, I was craving for good Bengali food and so, I ordered shukto and aloo posto from my favourite restaurant. I also love panta bhaat. That Bengaliness is always alive in me. You can take a Bengali out of Bengal, but you can’t take Bengal out of a Bengali (laughs)! However, since I have to be careful about my diet now, feasting like earlier is not possible.‘Miss the Norboborsho get-togethers’As a kid, I loved watching mummy wearing garad sari and doing alpona (a type of rangoli). I miss those Noboborsho get-togethers, where all family friends would turn up, and there would be hoichoi (shor sharaba and masti) and great food. I miss doing alpona now. Earlier, people would create alpona outside their homes using rice flour, which would later serve as food for birds and insects. Now, I don’t do alpona at our building because baad mein woh jhaadu maar ke nikal dena padta hai. However, I put some rice flour outside for birds and ants.