Missing home during Diwali!

Diwali is a Festival of Lights, which we celebrate with our loved ones but many of our busy TV actors miss all the fun during the festival as they are too caught up in their shoots and get no leave to go their home town.

TellyBuzz speaks to TV actors who share their memories about how they celebrated Diwali back home and how much they will miss it this year... 

Ankit Gera who is seen playing the character of Mayank in Zee TV's Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke: "I won't be able to go to my hometown in Delhi this Diwali so I will miss my family and some of my friends with whom I have celebrated the festival earlier. I won't be bursting crackers since I want to avoid pollution. On Laxmi Puja day, after offering the puja, I will be going for a card party and enjoy the festival. During my childhood days, we used to buy new clothes and I used to be very excited. There used to be puja held in our office and then at our home. It's not just on the day of Diwali but we used to have fun and preparing for the festival 4-5 days in advance. We used to meet and greet our friends and relatives and exchange gifts. Diwali is a festival of shopping for me and I used to enjoy shopping for Diwali." 
Shaleen Malhotra who is seen playing the character of Arjun is Star Plus' Arjun: "I won't be able to visit my hometown in Delhi this time. I remember we used buy new clothes and burst lots of crackers on Diwali during my childhood days. We would do the puja with my family and have lots of sweets. I will be missing my family this time on Diwali. I will do puja at my home in Mumbai and will light up diyas and candles. I will probably go out for a drive with my friends and have dinner with them on Diwali."   
Ratan Rajput who was seen playing the character of Princess Amba in Star Plus' Mahabharat: "Lakshmi puja is very important during Diwali. I won't be able to go to my hometown in Patna this year for Diwali but I will be doing Lakshmi puja at my home in Mumbai. I want to devote my time and want to seek blessings from Goddess Lakshmi and Ganeshji this Diwali. We used to have Paan (Beetle Leaf) on the day of Diwali after having dinner which I will miss this time and I will also miss the Kathal ki sabzi' and Aaloo Dum' which my mom cooks on Diwali.

I remember that during my childhood days, we used to buy crackers and keep them in the sunlight so that the noise would be louder when they are light up. We used to make Gharondas during childhood and now we all are having our own house in which we will seek blessings and prosperity during the Lakshmi puja. If my Mom and Dad would have been here they would have also wished for the same during Laxmi Puja and would have arranged everything but now I will have to do everything on my own after learning from them. However, I will be going to my hometown on 5^th November for Chatth puja."  

Shrenu Parikh who is seen playing the character of Aastha is Star Plus' Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon... Ek Baar Phir: "Being too busy with the shoots, I am just hoping to go to my home town in Baroda for at least a day. My house has been renovated so we are planning for a house warming party anytime soon. My whole family is waiting for me to join them. If not Diwali, then I will be going there later. I have not had time to visit my place in Baroda but I will meet my Nani and Mama in Baroda as their house is nearby from my place. If I am not able to go there then my parents and my brother will come here to meet me.

During my childhood days, I used to go to my Mama's place as soon as my vacation started; we used to make lot of snacks and enjoy them. My Nani used to prepare Ghughra (a Gujarati sweet) which I used to love the most. The next day used to be a holiday for us because of the New Year so we used to start our day by visiting the temple where people from the town used to gather. It was a nice chance to re-unite and meet everyone, touch everyone's feet to seek blessings, after which we used to get money (laughs). Now I hardly get time to even meet my family. The festivities would start from Dhanteras day only when we would go out for shopping and have Pani puri and then dinner later. I am scared of crackers so I used to just use Phool Jhadis on Diwali and we used to get tired of having sweets on Diwali. Festivals are the only occasion where we can re-unite with our loved ones so if I am not able to go to my hometown then I will miss my friends and family the most."

TellyBuzz wishes a special Happy Diwali to all those who are far away from their families!!!

Anwesha Kamal