Akshay
As told to Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; September 22, 2015)

I’ve danced on the streets during Ganpati when I used to stay in Bandra East. Then, we moved to Lokhandwala and would keep Ganpati in our building. I remember taking the idol to Versova for visarjan because it was so much fun.

There used to be these five nights when we would stay awake at night, play carrom, table tennis and there’d be competitions in the society. The aarti, the food. Logon ke ghar mein jaake prasad kha jaana (laughs). I have great memories attached with the festival.

At the same time, I would like to say, don’t just celebrate Ganpati. Make it as eco-friendly as possible. It’s really very important. The worst sight is when a day after the visarjan, you get to see the idols lying on the beach. I stay by the beachside and it’s really sad when you see Ganpati’s hands, legs lying here and there on the seashore. It looks really awkward. It’s better to use eco-friendly Ganeshas because they dissolves in water. I know these idols are a little bit expensive to buy an eco-friendly one, but it’s really important as you can save the environment in your own, little way.