As the bright festival of Navratri approaches, many in India experience excitement, devotion, and celebration. The celebration, which honours Goddess Durga and celebrates the triumph of good over evil, has a particular place in the hearts of people from all walks of life. In an exclusive chat with mid-day, Paresh Rawal opens up about his fond memories of playing garba and why he doesn`t attend garba pandals as a guest.
Paresh Rawal: Bhakti ka dhanda nahi hona chahiye
When asked about his plans for celebrating the festival, he shared, “I`ll be at home during Navratri. I am not against the festival; I am against the commercialisation of Navratri. Only that, it is a very pious festival and I support it wholeheartedly. I believe bhakti honi chahiye, bhakti ka dhanda nahi hona chahiye.”
Paresh Rawal went on to recall how he would celebrate the festival the authentic way, “We celebrate it at home with puja and the evening aarti. The family gathers, and if there is a bhajan gathering or something in our building, then we participate in it and sing and dance on garba together. We keep it simple when it comes to the celebration. Earlier, I used to fast for all nine days, but now I am not able to do it due to the erratic hours of shooting and disturbed sleep schedules.”
Paresh Rawal on playing garba the authentic way
Talking about garbas, Paresh revealed, “Yes, I used to, but not like those filmy garbas. The actual and authentic garba. When I used to live in Parla, the ladies would sing the garbas and dance, and there would be a dholi who would come to play dhol for us as we danced. Nowadays, there are orchestras and big grounds booked for playing garba with passes worth thousands. I am not against it, with all the preparations, even the organisers look at recovering the cost with passes. But it has gone beyond that, and that is why it is hurting me. I haven`t seen this in any other religion. You would never see disco tajia, but there is disco dandiya and that hurts me. That is the only reason why I feel that I can`t be a part of it.”
