Festive Memories

Two years ago,when actor Subodh Bhave was filming for 'Ardhangini Ek Ardhsatya',a Hindi remake of the Satyajit Ray-directed 'Ghore Baire',he was exposed to the Bengali way of celebrating Navratri,or Durga Puja for the first time.

Two years ago,when actor Subodh Bhave was filming for ‘Ardhangini Ek Ardhsatya’,a Hindi remake of the Satyajit Ray-directed ‘Ghore Baire’,he was exposed to the Bengali way of celebrating Navratri,or Durga Puja for the first time. The movie opened with a scene from the festival and I had really enjoyed the atmosphere of the festivities. It was the first time I had witnessed Bengali celebrations of Navratri, he says.

Come the e 16 th edition of the Pune Lokmanya Festival,one of the largest public Navratri celebrations in the city and Bhave is happy that he will get a chance to relive the same. When Bhave was a college student in Pune,he would regularly participate in Navratri celebrations,particularly ‘garba’ or ‘dandiya’ nights. In the past few years however,he has found fewer opportunities to enjoy the festival.

These days,my favourite part of the festival is eating the ‘shira’ and ‘wada’ made at home. I have been eating it since my childhood,when my grandmother and then my mother would make I for me, he says. This year,Bhave is excited about the ‘Raavan dharan’ ceremony he is attending on Dussehra on Wednesday. I rarely have the time to get involved in festivals now. When the festival organisers asked me to join the celebrations,I agreed, says Bhave.

On Dussehra day,during the festival,effigies of Raavana will be burnt. The evening will also include an hour-long fireshow with acts like fire-juggling and swallowing and a grand half-an-hour-long fireworks display.

The Lokmanya Festival will continue till October 29 and will also feature dandiya nights and musical programmes. The festival will be attended by several well-known Maharashtrian personalities such as Subodh Bhave,Tejaswini Pandit and others. It ends with ‘Geet Bahar’,a musical performance by Shubhangi Mule.

(‘Raavan dharan’ will be held on October 24,at Deccan Chowpatty between 6 to 9 pm. Entry to the event is free and open to everyone.)

Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories

Tags:
Satyajit Ray