Pankaj Tripathi is undeterred in his resolve to strike a work-life balance, and this is why he has stopped working on festival days. As Chhath Puja begins today, the actor — who hails from Gopalganj (Bihar)— has taken some time off to be with his family.

“Pehle main festival ke time par bhi kaam karta tha. But I don’t do that anymore,” the 47-year-old tells us, adding, “I have also started taking a weekly off now.”

A celebration native to the Bihar-Jharkhand belt, among other regions, Chhath Puja sees scores of people line up at railway stations every year to return home for festivities with their families. However, the National Award-winning actor will be in Mumbai itself. “I went to Bihar two-three years ago [for Chhath], where it is celebrated massively. My badi bhabhi celebrates it in Patna. Last year, I went to Chowpatty beach in Mumbai [for the puja]. This time, wherever there’s a water body, we will do the puja,” he says.

Sharing an insight into what the festival entails, Tripathi — who will be seen next in Atal — says: “Yeh aastha ka tyohaar hai. We worship Chhathi maiyya. Suraj ki puja hoti hai. The prasad is made using farm harvest, nothing store-bought. The offerings include sugarcane, turmeric and radish. We stand in the water and do the puja. Also, it’s probably the only festival in which there is no priest to do the puja. Jo Chhath mana raha hai, vahi puja karta hai.”