Inside Mithila Palkar's Ganpati Utsav: Ukadiche Modak, sacred festival rituals

New Delhi, Sep 7 (IANS) Actress Mithila Palkar has revealed about the fondest childhood memories of celebrating Ganpati Utsav with her family, opening up on the rituals and her favourite dishes during the festival.

Born into a Marathi family, Mithila is best known for her role in the show 'Little Things'. The 31-year-old diva got nostalgic about the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, and shared how she used to celebrate it with zest and fervour with her grandparents.

Mithila initially lived in Vasai with her parents, but later moved to live in Dadar with her maternal grandparents.

The 'Girl in the City' fame actress told IANS: "My fondest childhood memory of celebrating Ganpati is when I would live with my parents. So, for the first nine years of my life, I was with my parents. So, our neighbours used to get Ganpati for seven days, and that I remember used to be the one thing I would look forward to. I wouldn't get, like, all seven days of holiday in school."

"So, I would look forward to coming back from school to their house directly. Like, not even go to my house. Just go straight to their house, and I would be accompanying them to get Bappa's idol home. I will go with them for the visarjan. I would sing all the aartis. So, that's how regularly we used to say the prayers, say the aartis, play the musical instruments. I would go and distribute prasad to everybody after the aarti is done. So, yeah, that part of my memory, that part of my childhood is very, very special," she said.

How does your family prepare for the Ganpati Utsav?

Mithila said: "So, since as a child I have been living with my grandparents, nobody around our area would have Ganpati. So, then I would always, you know, visit friends and extended family. But in our house all festivals are celebrated with great fervour. So, Ganpati is also obviously a festival that we celebrate, and the biggest celebration in our house for any festival is food."

"Of course, Ukadiche Modaks are made in our house. And on the first day of Ganesh Chaturthi, when the prasad is made for Lord Ganesha, it is proper traditional Marathi food like-- 'Varan Bhaat', 'poori', and Amrakhand, all of those things," said Mithila.

Do you follow any specific rituals or customs during the festival?

Mithila commented: "This is what happens in custom rituals especially if I'm in the city and even if I'm working. If I'm in the city, I'll make sure that I will make time for family because any festival is a big family time and family gathering for us. That is the custom that we follow."

"We all meet, do prayer, and we eat the prasad that mama (my grandmother) has made," she shared.

Speaking about her favourite Ganpati Utsav dish, Mithila said: "There is no other competition to this dish. It has to be the Ukadiche Modak. You have to break the modak. You have to nicely pour sajuk tup in it, and eat it."

Mithila further shared the secret of staying connected to her roots, while managing her busy professional life.

"My family is hugely responsible for making us traditionally rooted. So, any festival is a big celebration as a family gets together. If I'm in the city and even if there is work, we just make sure that, like, we just come together for one meal at least and spend that time together as a family, and that's very important to all of us," she said.

Mithila concluded, saying, "And, if there is a reason and if there is a way of me staying true to my roots, it's all thanks to my family. Like, everybody in my family is very big on customs, traditions. And for them to have passed them on to us, I feel very happy and proud to be part of that. And, yeah, that's how I stay connected and make sure my family makes shows that makes sure that we all are part of these things without fail."Meanwhile, on the work front, Mithila is making her Tamil movie debut with 'Oho Ethan Baby'. She also has a Hindi movie 'Happy Patel Khatarnaak Jasoos' in the kitty.