The festivities of Diwali have begun and a long weekend is ahead. Everyone has made some or the other plans. Celebrities are also not far behind. Aahana Kumra has been one of the most talked about actresses this year after the massive success of her web shows 'Avrodh 2' and 'Call My Agent: Bollywood'.
Outlook’s Prateek Sur talks to Aahana Kumra about how she is going to celebrate the festival of lights this year. Also, she shares some of her fondest childhood memories of celebrating Diwali. Excerpts from the chat:
What are your memories of celebrating Diwali?
My early memories from Diwali would be our traditional celebrations at home in Lucknow. During our times, electric lights had not become the trend and our foremost memory of the festival would be lighting diyas. Everything was all about making the diyas ourselves, so we got our diyas, soaked them all in water and dried them in the sun before lighting them. We also used to have earthen lanterns. As we had a three-storeyed house, we required a lot of diyas and candles and we used to order those. I don't know how many of them were ordered to light up the whole house. Along with other family members, I used to go physically to light each and every lamp on the terrace and every corner of the house used to be lit up. I used to love fuljhadi and it was my absolute favourite. I still remember that early morning after Diwali, we used to go to collect all the wax from the railing and see what different shapes it had made through the night. So, these are my early and fond memories of Diwali.
Why is this Diwali more special than any other?
This time, I am celebrating my Diwali in my new and first home in Mumbai and I'm very very excited about it. Along with my parents, we will be conducting a small pooja. We will also have an intimate family celebration with a cosy dinner. As I mentioned earlier, this is my first Diwali in the new house and I wanted to make it only a family affair, being just with my parents.
What are you most looking forward to this Diwali?
I think it is the hawan we're going to do in the house as we never had one yet. So, I am really looking forward to doing a nice hawan for spreading happiness, peace, prosperity, and health in the house. So, that's something I'm looking forward to.
On the work front, Kumra has been busy with numerous web shows on different OTT platforms. She was also seen recently in Zee Theatre’s teleplay ‘Sir Sir Sarla’. She will next be seen in ‘Salaam Venky’.
