Anupamaa’s Shiwani Chakraborty on 5 am Mahalaya Nostalgia
The Anupamaa actor looks back at Mahalaya mornings in Khandwa, new clothes from Shashthi to the tenth day, and her Mumbai pandal hopping now.
For Shiwani Chakraborty, Durga Puja is not a one-day celebration. The actor, who plays Meeta Kothari in Star Plus and Rajan Shahi’s Anupamaa, grew up in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, where the festival arrived as five days of early mornings, new clothes and community bhog. In an interview with IWMBuzz, she walked through the memories that still define the season for her.
Mahalaya started while it was still dark
Her earliest Durga Puja memory is of Mahalaya in Khandwa. Her mother would wake the family at 5 am and ask everyone to get ready, so the Mahalaya programme on Doordarshan could fill the house in the morning. That ritual, she said, is one she still associates with the start of the festival.
“The very first memory that comes to my mind when I think of Durga Puja is from my hometown, Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh. Being a Bengali, we started from Shashthi, meaning the sixth day of Mahadurga’s establishment.”
That quote captures how tightly the festival is tied to her Khandwa roots.
From Shashthi to the tenth day
For her Bengali family, the main run began on Shashthi, the sixth day. From then until the tenth day, the plan was simple but strict: new clothes in the morning and again in the evening. That meant a lot of shopping beforehand. She also remembers sibling arguments over outfits and helping to put together cultural programmes for the children in the community.
Khandwa had only a few Bengali families, so the celebration became a shared one. Everyone gathered at one place for bhog and prasad, stretching the festival across five days. Those gatherings are what she misses most.
Mumbai pandals, Kolkata vibes
When she cannot travel to her hometown, Shiwani now does her pandal hopping in Mumbai. She says the city’s Bengali pandals, with their Anjali and bhog, give her “a bit of Kolkata vibes of Bengali Durga Puja in Mumbai.” Over the last few years she has become choosier, preferring friends’ pujas and the invites she receives.
Even the exhaustion that follows a full day of pandal hopping works for her. “It’s a festival full of happiness and vibes. I also love that tiredness in the end,” she said.
Why this resonates with Anupamaa fans
Shiwani is a familiar face from Star Plus and Rajan Shahi’s Anupamaa, where she plays Meeta Kothari. For viewers who follow her on screen, these off-screen memories offer a fuller picture of the actor. Her early mornings around Mahalaya and her current pandal-hopping in Mumbai also show how the festival stays with her even when work keeps her in the city.
Her festive routine, in short:
- Wake up at 5 am on Mahalaya for the Doordarshan broadcast.
- Celebrate from Shashthi to the tenth day in new clothes, morning and evening.
- Share bhog and prasad with the few Bengali families in Khandwa.
- In Mumbai, follow friends’ pandal invites for Kolkata-style Puja.
Source: IWMBuzz
