It’s time to welcome Bappa in our homes, as the Ganesh Chaturthi festival begins today (August 22) and will continue till September 1. And while this year’s celebrations are bound to be low-key due to the ongoing Corona pandemic, we aren’t going to miss out on welcoming Bappa! And the celebs are no different. With prayers for a COVID-free world, here’s how they plan to celebrate the grand festival in these times:
Sharad Malhotra
2020 marks the tenth year of Sharad bringing Ganpati home, and although the actor always has grand celebrations, he’s keeping it a more low-key celebration this time around.
Meera Deosthale
Meera Deosthale has gone eco-friendly as she made her own organic Ganpati idol. She fondly recalls her childhood memories visiting Ganpati pandals and dancing at the Visarjan She says, “I will surely ask him to take away all the vighna and bless all of us with health and prosperity.”
Rishina Kandhari
Rishina’s prayers to Bappa include good health, positivity and a Coronavirus-free world.
Shashank Vyas
Shanshank will not be bringing Bappa home this year, but will visit his friends to seek blessings of Bappa. “I pray for a world free of COVID virus from Ganpati,” he says.
Vijayendra Kumeria
Vijayendra Kumeria will be performing puja and aarti at home but will miss the grand celebrations for sure, that he has been doing since the last three years. However, he won’t be visiting friends or other pandals. He says, “This year I ask Bappa to make things normal, take away the negativity and bless everyone with good health.”
Vikas Sethi
Vikas plans to witness the amazing visarjans at Marine Drive like every other year with the necessary precautions.
Jhanvi Sethi
Bringing Ganpati with a big bang and dancing the night away during the Visarjan is Jhanvi Sethi’s favorite memory of Ganesh Chaturthi. She wishes everyone to enjoy the Ganpati energy!
Mohit Malhotra
Mohit will celebrate a low-key ceremony with an eco-friendly Bappa and says, “I will ask Bappa to set us free of this pandemic and to get our lives back to normal.”
Pranitaa Pandit
Pranitaa’s Ganesh Chaturthi is special with a new addition to the family and plans to have a low-key celebration.
Khusbhoo Kamal 
Khushboo Kamal will not be bringing Bappa home this year but will observe the fasting and visit the temple. She wishes to take forward the lessons she learned during COVID with her into the future.
Angad Hasija
Angad Hasija whose prayers to get good work and become famous were fulfilled by Bappa has been bringing Bappa home for the past 7 years. He says he will pray to Bappa to end this pandemic soon so that everyone gets back to their normal life.
Rohit Chaudhary
Rohit will invite friends in slots and maintain proper social-distancing. This time it’ll be an artificial visarjan where the idol will be melted into a Tulsi plant.
Shilpa Raizada
Shilpa recalls landing a role in ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai’ after bringing home her first Ganpati three years ago. She wishes that “the pandemic gets over soon and our life goes back to normal and he takes away all the negativity from our lives.”
Urvashi Upadhyay Sharle
Urvashi says, “Ganpati Bappa is Vighnaharata and we bring him home so that he can take away all our problems.” Urvashi wishes Bappa for a Corona free world.
Aarvika Gupta
Every year Aarvika Gupta visits Siddhivinayak, Lalbaug, and the pandals. This year she will have an eco-friendly Ganpati and won’t go anywhere for visarjan. She says, “The best part of the festival is the moment Bappa steps in our home the whole vibe changes and there is something magical in the vibe. I wish Bappa to give strength to everyone and always keep them motivated and also to end Corona.”
Rajit Dev
Rajit brought home Bappa for seven years before he couldn’t anymore due to work commitments. Rajit prays to Bappa, “to please bring back peace and love and take away all the negativity and bad energy of 2020 and bring our lives back to normal.”
(Compiled by Deblina Munshi)