Coming from Punjab, Navratri celebrations used to be more about pandals and devotion for Kritika Kamra, but coming to Mumbai 15 years back, changed the whole meaning to it for her. “I got introduced to Garba when I came to Mumbai and it felt such a fantastic way to celebrate. Now when I talk to my Gujarati friends, it is all the rage. Since a month now, all we have been discussing are the clothes they are getting made, where they are going and where (singer) Falguni Pathak is performing,” the actor laughs.
Speaking of music, her song Kamariya from Mitron (2018) also play a huge role in her Navratri celebration. “That song made a special connection for me with Navratri, because every year during these days, if I go somewhere or even if I’m sitting at home, I can hear it playing all around. It gets played once every night at least,” Kritika Kamra says, she never knew the song will become such a Navratri rage: “When you’re making it, you don’t know how it will fare but you do hope that it becomes successful. It’s also a take on a very popular folk song, so already that song exists. But I think it has been the biggest export of that film. People talk about that song mostly from Mitron.”
So, is Garba now a speciality of her? “I know very few steps, but I’m very good at them. I know my tricks, so I can fit in and I can also follow really well. I may not be able to lead a group, but I am a very good follower,” she quips. Kritika adds that food is also a major part of her celebration: “Everyday I’m not indulging in this kind of food, so I just love it. For me, any celebration is incomplete without traditional sweets and food items that we make on those special days.”
It’s the community feeling that Navratri brings that Kritika enjoys the most during these nine days. “Mumbai has a great way of celebrating these festivals as a community. I might not know all of my neighbours but during these times, people come together and they have shared responsibilities, especially in today’s day and age where we are so isolated in doing our own thing independently,” she says.
The nine days are also about celebrating womanhood for the actor. “In our culture, we have always acknowledged and celebrated the strength of women. You realise that there was a very good understanding of the feminine energy earlier that we maybe need to remind ourselves of today. We’ve always seen multiple facets of women in our history and mythology. I feel that sometimes today we tend to box women according to their roles. We don’t celebrate the multitudes of a woman. It’s something to remember again,” she says.
Kritika insists that Mumbai beams with inclusivity during Navratri. “It’s so vibrant and inclusive. Even in the neighbourhood, it doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, people’s backgrounds don’t matter, there is a certain sameness and equality when you are together or when you’re even playing Garba. I’ve attended many garbas, and the scale at which it has sort of become in Mumbai, it’s almost like concerts. People may not even even know each other, but there is so much warmth,” she asserts.
The actor adds, “I’m Punjabi, so Navratri is different for me as we have things like Mata ki chowki. We don’t have Garba. When I see this way of celebration, it’s such a great example of how we all Indians are one people even though we celebrate the same thing differently according to our culture. All of it has such great meaning and history behind it.”
