Divya Dutta on How Hosting Kanjak Pujan Feels Like Role Reversal
Divya Dutta recalls receiving at least 10 Kanjak Pujan invites in Delhi, her first ₹10 token, and why hosting the ritual now feels like role reversal.
As a child in Delhi, Divya Dutta had a small problem every Navratri: too many Kanjak Pujan invitations to choose from. Now the actor is on the other side of the ritual, welcoming her niece and other young girls into the celebration.
A childhood shaped by being wanted
Kanjak Pujan, also called Kanya Pujan, is observed on Ashtami or Navami during Navratri. Young girls are honoured as manifestations of Goddess Durga, with their feet washed and their blessings sought. For Divya Dutta, the festival was a highlight of growing up.
She remembers receiving at least 10 invitations every Navratri in Delhi, and never feeling so in demand. Friends would even compete over who had been invited the most.
A first token worth holding on to
Her clearest early memory is of an aunty asking to see her feet, pouring water over them, cleaning them and then taking aashirwad. The gesture made her feel respected and looked up to.
- At least 10 Kanjak Pujan invitations each Navratri as a child.
- A first token of ₹10, kept untouched in her gullak.
- Poori, halwa and channa as the ritual’s comfort plate.
Now, the roles have reversed
This Navratri, Divya Dutta is the host. That shift is exactly what makes the ritual feel new to her.
“Today, it’s role reversal for me,” she told Hindustan Times. She now washes the girls’ feet and seeks blessings, describing it as “respecting and loving girls as a roop of Mata Rani.”
Why that reversal matters
Divya Dutta’s memory is a reminder that rituals stay alive when they pass from one generation to the next. The same act that once made her feel special—having her feet washed and being blessed—now becomes something she offers to her niece and other girls.
For Indian entertainment fans, it is also a smaller, warmer kind of celebrity story: a star marking Navratri not on a stage but inside a family tradition.
Source: Hindustan Times
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