Bridget and Sivaji Ganguly

I was always very reticent about my faith. I still am very tolerant because within my own family, my brother is married to a Muslim. My sister is married to a Hindu. My husband is a Hindu. So we actually have Christian, Hindu, and Muslim, and we all live together in harmony. So that’s why when there’s all this brouhaha in the world, and I see people fighting over religion, I find it very difficult to comprehend because for me I really believe you must learn to respect other people for what they believe. They may be different. I don’t try to convert my husband because I believe that if my life is something he thinks is special, he will eventually follow my faith. But I will never impose it on him.

And I always believed that Hinduism was kind of a way of life. We just sort of become very liberal in terms of the way we accept different faiths. I mean, I married Bridget; she’s a Christian. I have no issue with her going to church, doing whatever she wants to do. I have no issue about my children—whether they want to be Hindus when they grow up, or whether they want to become Christian. I’d be very happy if they go to church. I’m fine with that. I’d be happy if they went to a temple. I’m fine with that because I believe that it just basically brings out the best in you. I mean these are important things.