TV stars share their fondest memories of Janmashtami

Among the most popular festivals of the year, Janmashtami is celebrated with a lot of fervour across the country. From making sweet delicacies to special poojas for Lord Krishna and participating in Dahi Handi celebrations, Janmashtami is a much-loved festival. While the pandemic may have caused celebrations to be low-key, the fervour remains the same. We spoke to television actors about their fondest memories of the festival. Read on...

Udaan actress Meera Deosthale says, “As a kid, we would attend the Swadhyay (recitation of vedas) where we used to learn about the Bhagawad Gita. I used to love attending the Janmashtami celebrations. As a kid, during Dahi handi, I would always on top of the human pyramid and maine bahut matkiya phodi hain. I have really memorable experiences of that. A day prior to Janmashtami, we used to go to the temple at midnight and Krishna bhagwan ka palna jhulate the. I love Krishnaji and feel very connected to him. In a happy coincidence, my name is Meera, who was a staunch devotee of Lord Krishna”

Wagle Ki Duniya actor Sumeet Raghavan says, “My fondest memory of Janmashtami are the nights below the festival. I used to live in Kurla and as kids, we used to gather at someone’s house and sing Krishna bhajans. That was a lot of fun. Mumbai is known for its festivals be it and as a typical Mumbaiker, I enjoy celebrating every festival kyuki yaha ki raunak kuch alag hoti hain. Apart from that, Dahi handi is special because as kids we used to break the matki. All my friends would contribute a little money and we would have a terrace party.”

“When I was a kid, I used to visit all the famous Dahi handi celebrations in Mumbai along with my friends. We used to travel from Girgaon to Borivali and watch all the famous Dahi handis in the city. But one of my fondest memories is when I was in the 2nd grade. We used to have Dahi handi in school and I was chosen to break the handi. I was scared initially, but when we practiced a couple of times, I found out that it was fun. On the day when I broke the handi and came down, everybody cheered for me and I felt like a king (laughs),” says Ishq Mein Marjawan actor Dusshyant Wag.

Kaatelal and Sons actor Ankit Mohan shares, “I have lots of memories from my childhood for Janmashtami. As a kid, I once dressed up like Lord Krishna and played the role in a play. In fact, I have also played Radha in temple celebrations when I was living in old Delhi as a kid. After growing up and becoming an actor, whenever I have attended Dahi handi events in Mumbai, I have always had a good time. This festival always brings me a lot of happiness.”

The Choti Sarrdaarni actress says, “My fondest memory of Janmashtami is when I used to dress up as Radha in school. As a child, I used to get dressed up in a sari, apply my mother’s make-up and wear pretty jewellery. That used to be a lot of fun because as a child I was fond of dressing up. That would happen only during Janmashtami, so I used to wait for this day each year. I never got a chance to take part in Dahi handi, but I always was fascinated by the pomp and merry making.”

Himanshu Malhotra, who has played Lord Krishna's avatar Vishnu in Paramavtar Shri Krishna, says, “My fondest memory is breaking Dahi handi in school when I was in the 10th grade. I was tall, so I was chosen and I still remember how I made it to the top and broke the handi. Given the current scenario, there can’t be any Dahi handi with crowds. I will miss all that a lot. We can only pray and hope that next year we will again get to see live Dahi handi in the streets of Mumbai.”

The actor says, “My fondest childhood Janmashtami memory is the midnight pooja at home. There was a fixed menu of bhog cooked every year and I loved having that. When I was a kid, my dadi used to dress me up as Lord Krishna. Once I was hungry and didn’t want to wait for the pooja to get over and insisted that I want to have prasad even before bhog. When I wasn’t allowed to do that, I asked my dadi how she could refuse after calling me her Krishna (smiles). I didn’t budge without having the mithai. This sounds embarrassing now, but I always remember this and we all laugh in our family about this incident.”