Aditi Sarangdhar: Women need not be superwomen, they must first love themselves

In Zee Marathi's serial 'Sanai Choughade', Jai and Sharu are realising that they have fallen in love. The development will affect Jai's mother Tejaswini the most. The role is played by Aditi Sarangdhar. On the occasion of Navratri, she spoke about the forms of the goddess within a mother, and about how women can keep themselves strong in today's world and recognise their own power.

During Navratri, nine forms of the goddess are worshipped. Asked how these powers are reflected in a woman, Aditi gave a frank opinion. She said the goddesses worshipped under different names have many forms. In a gentle, loving or short-tempered woman, everyone is bound to see a different form of the goddess. These forms, she said, are a woman's emotions, and it is necessary for those emotions to come out from time to time.

According to Aditi, the Navdurga are the nine emotions of the nine rasas. Women often hesitate to express these emotions, though it is important to open up from the heart. Bhondla, garba and dandiya, played as traditional games, are all meant for expressing these very emotions. In earlier times it was difficult for women to cross the threshold of the home, so festivals came about as a way of getting them out of the house. Mental health is discussed with great awareness today, but back then there was no such notion. Women were confined to the home and, if they got a few hours of happiness, they would live on it for the whole year. Aditi said that, for her, the nine forms of the nine goddesses show up in this way.

A mother is described as powerful like Durga and nurturing like Annapurna. Asked how she sees these forms of the goddess, Aditi said she feels today's mothers are very prone to tears. Earlier, so many children were raised, but she did not mean this in a bad sense. In a hectic world, she said, people have only one child, and so every mother is possessive about her children.

Aditi also said that if marriage and a child do not come at the right age, a storm of emotions rises, and one runs out of breath maintaining the balance. The Durga within her feels that, while playing Tejaswini in 'Sanai Choughade', Jai, Gautam and Sakshi are her children and she behaves accordingly. From society's point of view this may be wrong, but from a mother's point of view it is not.

In her words, one has to see all these forms while living as a mother. Every mother is possessive where her son is concerned. There is happiness in knowing she is about to become a mother-in-law, but the feeling that her son will move away from her is a different one. Every mother's level of insecurity is different, and so is the way she shows it. Aditi said that while playing Tejaswini, she finds the character right in her place as a mother. Even if people find her wrong, from a mother's point of view she is entirely right. Which form of Durga she is will be known soon.

Today's woman faces the big challenge of balancing home and career. On this, Aditi said she shoots for 'Sanai Choughade' for only 8 to 10 days. The rest of the time she gives properly to her son, because he is her priority at present. She can no longer put herself through too much hardship for work. She likes cooking, but if she cannot do it now, she does not feel the need for it.

Aditi believes that ignoring oneself behind the tag of having to be a superwoman is very wrong. She tries to give as much time as possible to her husband and son. What makes her happy now seems more important to her. Since she has options, reducing irritability while managing home and career, dieting and paying attention to herself are just as necessary, and choosing the options needed for this matters even more.

Asked how important it is for a woman to live for herself and put her dreams first, Aditi said she finds it extremely important. People of earlier times were great, but she does not feel at all that we should live as they did just because they lived that way. We are free to do what we want. Every woman should live for herself and strengthen her dreams.

Asked what message she would give women and their families this Navratri, Aditi said she wants to tell every woman to focus on herself. If you learn to love yourself, you can look after everyone properly. If you are in distress yourself, you cannot keep others happy either. Emotions come out in the form of some illness or other, and when emotions find no outlet, these illnesses result. So love yourself, let out what you do not want, and this Navratri every woman should take care of herself.

Asked to define motherhood in one word, Aditi said, 'Irreplaceable'. Motherhood can never be bought with money, and no one else can ever take a mother's place. Aditi put forward her views plainly and frankly, extended Navratri greetings to everyone and did not forget to ask viewers to watch 'Sanai Choughade'.