Mumbai, Sep 14: Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor gave fans a glimpse into her family’s Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations on Monday.

The actress shared pictures of husband and actor Saif Ali Khan working with clay to make an eco-friendly Lord Ganpati idol at home.

In the first picture, Saif can be seen dressed in a white kurta-pyjama as he sits on the floor, working on the clay idol with his hands.

Kareena then shared a picture of the completed clay idol, which was placed on a wooden surface. The actress revealed that the idol was made by her younger son, Jehangir Ali Khan, fondly called Jeh.

Sharing the picture, Kareena wrote: “Made by my Jeh Baba. Wishing everyone a happy and peaceful Ganesh Chaturthi!”

For the uninitiated, Kareena and Saif have embraced festivals and traditions from both sides of their families. Kareena comes from the Punjabi Kapoor family, while Saif belongs to the Muslim Pataudi family, making their marriage an interfaith one.

The couple, who got married in 2012, have often celebrated different festivals with their children, Taimur and Jeh. Kareena has previously spoken about how her family celebrates festivals across faiths, saying that Christmas is celebrated as much as Diwali, while Eid is also part of their family celebrations.

From Christmas lunches and Diwali celebrations to Eid festivities featuring biryani and family get-togethers, the couple have showcased a blend of traditions at home.

On the professional front, Kareena is all geared up for her upcoming movie, Daayra which also stars Prithviraj Sukumaran. The movie directed by Meghna Gulzar, is set to release on September 18.

Mumbai, Sep 12: Bigg Boss 20 contestant Qazi Touqeer opened up about his longstanding friendship with star singer Arijit Singh.

While chatting with his fellow housemates in an episode of BB 20, Qazi showered praise on the playback singer for his passion, fighting spirit and down-to-earth nature.

Qazi, who shares a friendship with Arijit dating back to their days on the 2005 singing reality show Fame Gurukul, spoke about the singer with immense affection and admiration.

“Bro, I’m telling you. That guy is my life,” Qazi said while talking about Arijit.

Qazi also spoke about Arijit’s passion for music and recalled how the singer could remain completely absorbed in his musical world for hours.

“That guy is my life. Uska fighting spirit crazy hai. Woh 8 ghante tak nahi thakta.” “Sitar leke baithta hai.” (He sits down with his sitar.) “Shuru jab kiya usne toh time ka kuch pata nahi chal raha hai. Saat ghanta, chhe ghanta, constant. Usi cheez mein khoya hua hai.”

(His fighting spirit is crazy. He doesn’t get tired even after eight hours. Once he starts, he loses track of time. Seven hours, six hours, constantly. He is completely lost in it)

Qazi went on to praise Arijit’s love for the process of creating music, saying that for his friend, the joy lies in the process and the music itself.

“Mereko kapdon ka shauk hai, mereko aisa hai. Uske liye maza kya hai? Process. Uska sangeet.” (I have a fascination for clothes and such things. But for him, what matters is the process. His music.)

When asked about his favourite Arijit Singh song, Qazi became emotional and chose “Tum Hi Ho” from the 2013 film Aashiqui 2. He dedicated the song to his friend, saying he shared a very close bond with him and respected him so much that “alfaz kam padh jaaye”. (Out of words)

Qazi then added, “I love you, Arijit bhai. We love Arijit. Arijit bhai, I love you so much. The whole country loves him, bhai. Kuch bolne ki baat hi nahi hai.”

For the uninitiated, Qazi and Arijit’s friendship goes back more than two decades. The two met as young contestants on Fame Gurukul in 2005 and have remained close despite their careers taking very different paths.

Their friendship received another public endorsement after Qazi entered Bigg Boss 20. Arijit took to X and revealed that Qazi had given him a reason to watch the reality show for the first time.

“I will have to watch BIG BOSS for the first time in my life cz Apna Rockstar QAZI hai udhar,” Arijit wrote.

India’s foreign exchange reserves surged by $44.90 billion to a record $785.71 billion in the week ended September 4, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.

The sharp rise follows an increase of $11.47 billion in the previous week, taking the reserves to $740.80 billion as of August 28.

Foreign currency assets (FCA), the largest component of India’s forex reserves, drove the increase, rising by $47.498 billion during the week to $648.17 billion. FCA holdings were $95.886 billion higher than at the end of March and up $63.692 billion from the corresponding period a year earlier.

Gold reserves, however, declined by $2.594 billion during the week to $113.816 billion. Despite the weekly fall, gold reserves remained $23.517 billion higher than a year ago, although they were $1.580 billion below their end-March level.

India’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) fell marginally by $4 million during the week to $18.806 billion. SDR holdings were $184 million higher than at the end of March and $64 million above their year-ago level.

The country’s reserve position with the IMF increased by $2 million during the week to $4.916 billion. It was also higher by $108 million from the end-March level and up $168 million compared with a year earlier.

Overall, India’s foreign exchange reserves have risen by $94.599 billion since the end of March and are $87.438 billion higher than they were a year ago.

The record level of reserves provides a substantial buffer for India against external shocks and helps strengthen the country’s capacity to manage volatility in global financial markets and the foreign exchange market.

Meanwhile, in the week ended August 28, the central bank data showed that India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $11.475 billion to reach an all-time high of $740.803 billion.