Get a lot of peace: Shalini Chaudhary on fasting during Navratri

Mumbai: For actor-producer Shalini Chaudhary, who has featured in shows like Aahat and Crime Patrol, Navratri is not just a festival but a source of peace and strength. She fasts for the nine days of the festival and shared that she has been doing it since a very young age. She said, “I fast for all nine days, and I started doing it when I was a small kid. It’s just that I get a lot of peace, and more than anything this festival makes me feel like myself again. I perform the puja and do it with my heart. Durga Maa has always supported me, and I feel so blessed.” Talking about her spiritual practices, she added, “I follow Guruji from Chhatarpur. I go to seva every Sunday. I prefer to follow spiritual and religious things more. I don’t have many friends. I do my work. I look after my family of 10-15 people. I look after my work. And I get peace from that. I feel a person needs peace, no matter what. So it’s better to be with God and feel that peace. At least he is with you everywhere.” Shalini reflected on her past struggles and how they affected her devotion. She said, “I have been fasting since childhood. But when I got married when I was 15-16 years old,

I faced abuse for 12 years. It was a very difficult time for me, and it was during that duration that I couldn’t continue with my fast, even if I wanted to.” When asked which form of Goddess Durga she relates to, she explained, “All the forms are the same. At the end of the day, she is the supreme. I know only one mother, and that is her.” A spiritual and religious person that she is, she makes sure to celebrate all the festivals. “I also believe in Mahashiv. I have built a temple in my house. But actually I will put it correctly and say that it’s their house. Who are we to keep them? Who are we to make their temple? Everything is theirs.” “I also do Ganpati. Since I bought my own house, I have been doing Ganpati puja every year for 11 days. And people in the industry also say, “No one can do what you do; no matter how much money you have, no one can worship like you, and no one can do astha like you.” She credits her upbringing in the army background for her spiritual journey. She said, “Army is a very closed circle. When my father was serving at that time, there were no phones; there were no TVs in our time. I was already very shy. I didn’t want to go to anyone’s house. But as my life progressed, when I started meeting people, and I saw their reality, I stopped trusting them. But then onwards I began trusting in God, whether he supports me or not.” She went on to add how she has always kept her life clean from distractions. “I never drank. I never smoked. I never went to a pub. I never went to get an award. I send my children. I had opened a nightclub for business. But I don’t like all these things. I am a single mother, and if I do anything wrong, my children will also do it. It will affect them. But I don’t know if God supported me or what; today my children are successful,” Shalini ended.