A month after hosting a big Eid celebration, Galaxy apartments in Bandra, home to Salman Khan and his family, is buzzing with Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations today.
Even as you read this, all the members of the Khan family are participating in the religious rituals centered around Lord Ganesha. This is the 11th year that the elephant-headed God, the remover of all obstacles, is visiting their home. We brought in Lord Ganesha 11 years ago because Arpita (Salman's little sister) insisted," says Salma Khan, their mother. "She was very keen and took it upon herself to organise every detail of the festival. As she promised, she has been organising it single-handedly every year since then."
In this modern Muslim home, a very secular atmosphere exists, as Hinduism, Islam and Christianity co-exist here happily, thanks to the efforts of Marathi-Brahmin Salma Khan (originally SushilaCharak),herhusbandSalimKhan and his second wife Helen, who is Catholic.
Earlier, when the Khans did not celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi at home, Salman, brothers Arbaaz and Sohail and sister Alvira would be taken to their aaji's (maternal grandmother's) home in Mahim for the festivities.
"In the evenings, I would dress up the kids and go to my mother's house so the children could celebrate with our neighbours there," Salma recollects fondly.
Her daughter Alvira, married to filmmaker Atul Agnihotri, recalls her childhood memories of the festival. "Though it wasn't celebrated at home, Ganpati was great fun. Salman bhai, Arbaaz bhai, Sohail and I would run down the street to join the Ganpati processions that would halt before our house. We would participate in the aarti dance," laughs Alvira.
Today, she and her younger sister Arpita have become extremely devoted to Ganesha. They sometimes even walk barefoot to the Siddhivinayak Temple situated in Prabhadevi on Tuesdays.