Madhuri is mad about Mumbai

It's been a decade since she left Mumbai to live in Denver with her husband Sriram Nene, but Madhuri still craves for the fervour of Ganpati festival back home. "It is a huge thing, especially for us Maharashtrians. There are so many lovely memories attached to this festival. Apart from being a Ganpati bhakt of course, I miss all the preparations that go in days before the festival used to start."

While her mother used to be busy preparing modaks and puran poli, Madhuri and her siblings would be at Shivaji Park, looking out for all the Ganpati idols being carried to various destinations of the city.

"It was so thrilling to watch all those huge idols pass by," she says with the same child-like excitement. At Denver, she tries replicating the same festive spirit in her own little way. "We have pooja in the morning at home and bring modaks from anIndian store. It's obviously not the same, so when my mother is here, I ask her to make it for us. She is an expert," Madhuri adds.

Even in Denver, the small Indian community keeps a Ganpati idol which they worship for 10 days, before it is taken for visarjan in a nearby lake. "This place is not like Chicago or LA where there is a huge Indian community and they celebrate these festivals with a lot of pomp," Madhuri rues. "But we make an effort here too."

And that's why she makes sure that sons Arin and Ryan are aware of the significance of the festival.