Daisy Shah Preps for Next Ganpati Right After Visarjan; She’s Already Planning the Mandap

Actor Daisy Shah has made the annual Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations at her Mumbai home a personal mission, taking over the duties that once belonged to her parents after her father’s passing in 2007. She explains that the tradition began in 2003 when her family first brought home a Ganpati idol, and since then she has been responsible for every detail – from the design of the mandap to the appearance of the deity and the method of bringing the idol into the house.

According to Shah, the planning for the next year starts immediately after the current Ganpati’s visarjan. “Once this year’s Bappa visarjan ho jaata hai, the next year’s planning starts from the next day itself,” she says, emphasizing that she likes to prepare well in advance. She balances a glamorous idol with a subtle mandap, noting that “you’ll see a lot of bling on my Bappa, but around him, all the things are very subtle.”

This year’s idol has a new twist: Shah’s family now has two Ganpatis instead of one. After her nephews asked why they didn’t have a Bappa, she consulted the idol maker and acquired a second small murti that had not yet been claimed. She also mentions a shift toward eco‑friendly idols, a practice she has adopted in recent years.

The festivities bring Shah’s extended family together, with relatives from Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh joining in. While modaks are a staple, the family follows a distinct Gujarati tradition for prasad, offering homemade laddoos made from flour that her grandmother used to prepare. Shah admits her personal favorite is the ukdiche modak.

For Shah, the essence of Ganpati lies in creating a welcoming space rather than grandiosity. “My celebration is not very grand, we try to keep it as big as possible,” she says, noting that the idol is displayed for only 1.5 days but that guests should feel at home when they come for darshan. She recalls a man who built a small mandap inside his rickshaw due to space constraints, illustrating the festival’s spirit of intention over scale. Food, she adds, is a major draw for her, as she looks forward to the culinary delights that accompany the celebrations.