Actor Hiya Chatterjee has a busy second half of the year as she is all set to make her debut in Rahool Mukherjee’s Mon Maney Na opposite Ritwik Bhowmik and Soumya Mukherji. But we catch up with her during Durga Puja to know more about her fondest memories of the festival.
When we asked Hiya to take us through her most cherished Durga Puja memories she mentioned, “It’s always been my mum (Mohua Chatterjee), grandmother and me going out for pandal hopping. This was a Puja tradition of sorts. Then friends used to come over for at least two out of the five days for house parties.”
So how does Durga Puja look like today we ask, she says, “No matter how busy I am, I will of course go out during the Pujas. Most of my friends are coming down during the festival. That’s what I am really looking forward to. We have decided to meet up. There are cafes which we want to explore together.”
She contemplates further, “As we are growing up, I realise that these moments are very special. Earlier it was taken for granted. But since today everyone is busy with their lives, studying or working outside the city, the opportunity to meet friends is very less. And of course the sound of Dhaak makes the city extra special. I am looking forward to spending time with the family, giving anjali together, sitting at a pandal.”
With Durga Puja comes the love for clothes and fashion. It becomes a time to experiment and evolve personal fashion, combining the love for traditional attires and the different trends that come every year. Hiya mentions, “ There used to be a huge craze about new clothes when we were young. I had to have at least five pairs of new clothes if not more. Sometimes I would change in the morning and the evening. Otherwise, I was particular about my five pairs of clothes.”
And during middle or high school, she says, “the craze of wearing a saree during Durga Puja started. As children we did not understand much so frocks, dresses and western attire were definitely on the cards. As we kept growing up, everyone loved to wear sarees or ethnic wear. So, I would say in terms of fashion trend, that love for sarees grew with Pujo.”
Talking about pandal hopping she recalls, “I love pandal hopping. So, it’s usually Ma and me hopping around in north, south and central. Baba (Saswata Chatterjee) prefers to stay at home during Pujas because otherwise on most days he is shooting. And since he's at home that's when most of our family addas take place.”
What about the first time she went out with friends alone? She mentions, “We used to visit the Mudiali pandal after tuitions. I don’t exactly remember when my parents left me to hang out with friends during Puja for the first time, but we had a big group back in school, so we used to take off. But of course we had to give exact details of pandal routes to Ma.”
Before signing off, Hiya mentions her favourite food during this time are, “Phuchka is a must. Luchi, Kosha Mangsho and Chingri Macher Malai Curry”.
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