Priyanka Chopra Jonas and her husband, singer Nick Jonas, celebrated Dussehra with a traditional puja at home alongside their daughter, Malti Marie Chopra Jonas. The couple performed Kanya Pujan, a Hindu ritual in which young girls are worshipped as forms of Goddess Durga. Priyanka shared photographs from the celebration on social media, offering a glimpse into the family’s prayers and festive traditions.
Malti joins the family’s Dussehra rituals
Malti wore an ivory traditional outfit paired with a red scarf carrying the words ‘Jai Mata Di’. One photograph showed Priyanka and Nick washing their daughter’s feet as part of the Kanya Pujan ritual. Other pictures captured the family sitting together during the puja and posing in front of their home temple, which was decorated with flowers and religious idols.
Alongside the photographs, Priyanka shared a message about the festival, writing, “May the strength of Maa Durga, the purity of our prayers and the spirit of Dussehra stay with us all, today and tomorrow and always.”
The actress has previously shared moments of introducing Malti to Indian culture and spirituality. In August this year, Priyanka posted a video of herself teaching her daughter a verse from the Durga Saptashati. Malti could be seen trying to repeat the Sanskrit prayer after her mother.
Priyanka and Nick’s journey to parenthood
Priyanka and Nick welcomed Malti in January 2022 through surrogacy. Their early journey as parents was challenging because Malti was born prematurely and spent around 110 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
In an earlier interview, Priyanka spoke about the difficult experience and recalled how she and Nick took turns staying with their daughter in the hospital.
Nick would sing to Malti while playing his guitar, while Priyanka played religious mantras softly near her daughter’s crib. These included the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, Gayatri Mantra and Om Namah Shivaya.
The latest Dussehra photographs show another occasion when the couple included Indian customs in their family celebrations. Through such posts, Priyanka has offered glimpses of how cultural traditions and spirituality remain part of Malti’s upbringing.
