Mumbai, Aug 22 (IANS): Actress and former beauty queen Manushi Chhillar is celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi at home for the first time.

"My parents always wanted me to experience different cultures and celebrate them. I'm from Haryana but Mumbai is my home too. I was fascinated by the Ganpati celebrations in the city when I first experienced it. The energy, the love and the passion with which people in Maharashtra celebrate Ganpati is really special," she said.

Enamoured by Ganesh puja, Manushi decided to bring Ganpati home.

"I remember speaking to my parents that I wanted to celebrate Ganpati at home. They immediately said yes, so this is the first year that I'm keeping Ganpati at home and I couldn't be happier. It is an extremely special moment for me and I will pray for peace and prosperity for everyone," she said.

Manushi believes in an eco-friendly celebration. "The Ganpati I'm keeping at home is an eco-friendly one. It has seeds embedded in the idol so I'm going to do the Visarjan at home in a clay tree pot. I'm looking forward to nurture the seeds well so that life sprouts out of it," she said.

"Celebrating a festival like this is important because it brings people and cultures closer but if we celebrate it in an eco-friendly way, we will also contribute towards nature conservation. I'm hoping to spread this message with the way I'm keeping my Ganpati," said Manushi.

"We are definitely in the middle of a huge ecological crisis. It is high time we acknowledge it," she added.

The actress is gearing up for her Bollywood debut opposite Akshay Kumar in the upcoming movie "Prithviraj". She will also be seen opposite Vicky Kaushal in a yet-untitled comedy film produced by Yash Raj Films.