Cinema VinesAs Maharashtra’s people gather to observe Ashadhi Ekadashi, also called Devshayani Ekadashi, actor Shriya Pilgaonkar shares how her family approaches the day’s rituals. In her home, the family follows a light fast, eating permitted foods such as sabudana, rajgira, fruit, and other simple meals specially prepared for the occasion. Some relatives take a stricter approach, opting for a nirjala fast that involves neither food nor drink.
According to Pilgaonkar, the true purpose of the fast is to slow one’s pace and turn inward. She says, “It’s about stepping away from your usual routine and distractions so you can focus on prayer and reflection.” The festival marks the beginning of Lord Vishnu’s four‑month cosmic sleep, known as Yoga Nidra, and signals the start of the Chaturmas season.
In Maharashtra, the day also coincides with the Pandharpur Wari, an 800‑year‑old pilgrimage in which lakhs of Warkari devotees walk to the Vithoba Temple on the banks of the Chandrabhaga River in Pandharpur, Solapur. Pilgaonkar notes that the Wari’s spiritual energy is profoundly moving, regardless of one’s level of religious belief.
Growing up, she recalls her mother, actress Supriya Pilgaonkar, teaching her not only the rituals but also their deeper meaning. “On Ashadhi Ekadashi, we’d watch the Pandharpur Wari on television, listen to abhangas, and she’d explain why the day was so spiritually significant,” she says. She remembers being amazed that devotees would walk for days, singing and praying together, chanting “Vithalla Vithalla.”
Pilgaonkar also highlights specific devotional pieces that resonate with her. “One abhang that I’ve always found very soothing is Sundar Te Dhyan by Sant Tukaram,” she shares, adding that she loves the song “Mauli” by composers Ajay‑Atul for its uplifting spirit and its capture of the Warkari tradition. She concludes that she would love to experience the pilgrimage in person at least once in her life.
