Celebrated by millions in India and abroad, Diwali is one of the most important events in India’s festival calendar. Diwali, the festival of lights, celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance and good over evil. Besides, bursting firecrackers, people also clean their homes, distribute sweets among friends and acquaintances, light diyas in their house and decorate the doorsteps with colourful rangolis on Diwali. Sunday POST caught up with a few Odia celebs to know about their Diwali plans.
Actress Shivani Sangeeta, who became a household name after doing Sister Sridevi and Prem Kumar, says, “For me Diwali is about decorating my home, lighting diyas and wearing new clothes. It has been our family tradition not to burst firecrackers that create sound pollution. I make sure not to miss the special Diwali photo shoot.”
The Gud Boy actress adds that her family does not celebrate Dhanteras, a part of Diwali celebrations, like many others as it is not a typical Odia tradition. However, her mother makes it a point to buy gold on Diwali.
Like every year, actress Bhoomika Dash this time too is looking forward to celebrating Diwali with family and friends. “We wait for this festival to give the interiors of our house a facelift. I enjoy making large rangolis and savouring homemade delicacies. As we live in an apartment and we spend the night with our neighbours,” she says.
The state film award-winning actress, who also organises a pre-Diwali bash with her friends, adds that she abstains from fireworks as it creates a lot of pollution. Bhoomika also urged the readers to use traditional diyas and illuminate their houses with colourful lights, which are environment-friendly, instead of bursting crackers.
Popular playback singer Sanju Mohanty prefers not to burst crackers on Diwali after a frightening experience. Instead, she prefers lighting a few sparklers. The Loveria singer says, “I used to burst crackers with my siblings as a child. It was fun but once a cracker exploded in my brother’s hand. He suffered severe burns that took a long time to heal. Since then, I decided not to burst crackers and also encourage others to do the same.”
The Chuni tale black money singer has to travel extensively owing to her professional commitments and hardly gets time to be part of any festivity. “If I get an opportunity, I try to go to my village and celebrate Diwali following all the rituals,” she adds.
Choreographer Girish Mohanty say that Diwali this year has brought good luck for him, as he is all set to make his debut as a director. Girish says that he will complete shooting the first schedule a day ahead of Diwali.
“I am excited about turning director. However, I will miss celebrating Diwali with my friends. We didn’t celebrate it last year too due to the demise of my mom. This year, I will celebrate Diwali with my film’s cast and crew,” he says.
Narrating a memorable incident, Girish says, “Once when I was school, I took a firecracker to my classroom ahead of Diwali. I was playing with my friends, when it suddenly went off. A few classmates lodged a complaint with the headmaster. However, my best friend took the blame on him and I was saved from getting punished. Since then, I have stopped bursting noisy firecrackers.”
Actress Divyadisha Mohanty of Sundargarh Ra Salman Khan fame says that she will be busy shooting for her upcoming film Bala- The Rhythm of Life. However, Divyadisha will try to find out some time to spend with her family in the evening. “I will try to spend the evening with my family and friends. We believe in a cracker-free Diwali and love diyas, rangoli and enjoy the home-cooked delicacies. Hope, we will have a great time together this year,” she says.
Actor and producer Sritam Das plans to decorate his house with flowers and earthen clay lamps. “Although I believe in eco-friendly Diwali, it is difficult to make the kids understand. So, I will have to burn a few sparklers with my daughter till she grows up to understand the importance of protecting the planet. My Diwali is incomplete without some sumptuous dishes and this year won’t be any exception,” says the Tu Tha Mu Jauchi Rushi director.
BRATATI BARAL, OP