As people across Maharashtra celebrate Ashadhi Ekadashi, also known as Devshayani Ekadashi, today, actor Shriya Pilgaonkar speaks to us about her family’s rituals. “At home, we usually observe an upvas, where we eat permitted fasting foods like sabudana, rajgira, fruits, and other simple meals prepared especially for the day. Some people choose to observe a much stricter nirjala fast where they don’t eat or drink anything,” she shares.
The actor adds that the essence of the fast is to help one slow down and turn their attention inward. “It’s about stepping away from your usual routine and distractions so you can focus on prayer and reflection,” says the 37-year-old about the festival which marks the commencement of Lord Vishnu’s four-month cosmic slumber (Yoga Nidra) and the beginning of Chaturmas. In Maharashtra, lakhs of Warkari pilgrims complete the Pandharpur Wari (an 800-year-old annual walking pilgrimage) to worship Lord Vitthal at the Vithoba Temple on the banks of the Chandrabhaga River in Pandharpur, Solapur.
She goes on to say, “One abhang that I’ve always found very soothing is Sundar Te Dhyan by Sant Tukaram. And a song I love is Mauli by (composers) Ajay-Atul. It’s uplifting and captures the spirit of the Warkari tradition.”
Growing up, Shriya insists that her mother, actor Supriya Pilgaonkar, made sure that she understood not just the rituals but also the meaning behind them. “On Ashadhi Ekadashi, we’d watch the Pandharpur Wari on television, listen to abhangas (traditional Marathi devotional poems) and she’d explain why the day was so spiritually significant. I remember being amazed that so many devotees would walk for days, singing and praying together chanting Vithalla Vithalla. The spiritual strength of the Warkaris is deeply powerful,” she shares, adding that no matter if one is religious or not, there’s something “incredibly moving” about so many devotees coming together with faith, surrender, and devotion. “I’d love to experience it at least once in my lifetime,” she ends.
