After two years of lackluster Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, Mumbaikars have let their hair down and are filled with exhilaration and fervour to make the most of these eleven days. Bollywood celebrities, much like others, have left no stone unturned to make this year’s celebration a memorable one. And when it comes to the list of Tinsel Town’s most popular Ganpati galas, singer Palak Muchhal’s celebrations cannot be missed.
News18 Showsha catches up with her following an aarti on the fourth day of the festivities at her abode in Mumbai’s Lokhandwala. Muchhal exclusively tells us that celebrating the festival is always fun in the city but she will always hold her childhood days in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, very close to her heart.
“We would celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi for ten days there. There’s a tradition of jhaanki in Indore where everyone comes together for a procession with the idols and rallies through the roads on the tenth day of the immersion. It’s an integral part of the festival back there. So, our celebrations would be very special. That’s a difference when you compare it to the celebrations in Mumbai but the feelings, emotions, and devotion are still the same,” elaborates the Chaahun Main Ya Naa (Aashiqui 2; 2013) singer.
Muchhal shares that following two years of a low-key puja, she’s rather happy to bring Bappa home this year and cherish the beauty of Ganesh Chaturthi with her near and dear ones. Talking about how she decorated a themed mandap at her home with her family, she excitedly says, “Every year, mumma, daadi and I decorate the idol and the backdrop together. This year, the theme is peacock feathers and so, we’ve used a lot of it. We’ve kept everything organic so that we don’t harm the environment much. When we come together and decorate the mandap for Bappa, it makes us feel more devotional.”
Food is an integral part of any festival. Ask the 30-year-old about her favourite desserts and she remarks, “I love eating boondi ke laddoo during Ganesh Chaturthi. What makes it more special is that I can also eat them freely during these few days. It’s like five days of indulging in only treats (laughs). I also love modak and gond ke laddoo.”
Muchhal says that she has a lot to thank the Lord, known for being a remover of material and spiritual obstacles, this year. “I thanked him for the songs that I got to sing and the love and blessings that came my way. I recorded more songs in these past two years than I ever did. I have a recording studio of my own. Though shoots were stalled were the lockdowns, recordings continued and I had the luxury of getting the composers online and collaborating with them, virtually. The tracks I recorded last year will come out this year and the next,” she states.
Apart from her chartbusters, Muchhal is also known and lauded for her philanthropic work. She has been raising funds through her charity shows in India and abroad to help save the lives of many underprivileged children suffering from heart ailments. And so, the one thing that she’s grateful for the most is to have been able to resume live concerts.
Shedding light on it, she says, “I thanked Bappa for the surgeries that have happened this year. The last two years have been difficult for a lot of us. My live shows weren’t happening and the children were getting serious, health-wise. This year, everything has begun in full swing. So, I’m happy that they are getting benefitted. Moreover, everyone around me is healthy and happy and I’m super grateful for that.”
As she looks forward to the months ahead, the Kaun Tujhe (MS Dhoni: The Untold Story; 2016) and Ik Mulaqaat (Dream Girl; 2019) vocalist wishes for more female composers in the music industry. “I wouldn’t want to label us as ‘female musicians’. I, personally, haven’t seen any discrimination between musicians of the two genders in our industry. But it’s true that female composers are lesser in number. The rate, however, at which their numbers are growing is incredible. We’ve Sneha Khanwalkar and Jasleen Royal doing some amazing work. Girls and women, who are composers, can pursue their dreams now because people are more receptive than ever,” states Muchhal.
