Family time, muted celebration and charity during Lohri and Makar Sankranti for us: TV celebs

I am in Jaipur and will be shooting for my show (Ghar Ek Mandir–Kripa Agrasen Maharaj Ki) on the day of Uttarayan. Although I will miss flying kites with my friends in Vadodara, we need to be very careful and celebrate responsibly this time. Uttarayan is among my favourite festivals. Be it spending the entire day on the terrace, being a part of undhiyu parties or having chikki and jalebis, I loved everything about the celebrations. This festival signifies flying again after falling down and considering how all of us have been through difficult times in the last two years, I pray and hope that we put this phase behind us soon and soar high once again!

Uttarayan around the corner I want to be cautious this time around. This year, I want to be responsible and not celebrate Uttarayan like I do every other year. It is important to take care of ourselves as well and have scaled down celebrations. I will miss the kind of kite flying celebration Ishita and I had in Ahmedabad a couple of years ago, but when the COVID situation is so scary, it’s better to stay safe. There will be bigger and better Uttarayans for us all - let’s exercise some restraint this time. In fact muted celebrations can be good too -they have their own charm if you are with those you love.

I won’t be able to go to Vadodara for Makar Sankranti this year given the restriction on travel, so I'll celebrate it in Mumbai only. The only option I have here is to fly kites on the terrace. My mom plans to cook a special meal for me. I was good at putting the thread into the kites (tang bandhana). All the boys in our building asked me to do this for them, I was that good! I have some amazing memories of flying kites on the sets of my earlier show along with the cast and crew, I still miss that.

As someone who has an Army background, I remember Lohri used to be celebrated with a lot of fanfare. We used to get together at night - have our bonfire, dance and eat some amazing khana. My friends and I used to sing Lohri songs and our elders would give us some shagun. Lohri is an important festival for the harvesting season and has a lot of signifance especially for those from Punjab. This year, given the pandemic situation, main ghar ke mandir mein mattha tekungi and will enjoy gajjak, moongfali and popcorn.

I remember going to the terrace of my Ahmedabad home and flying kites non stop with friends. I used to eat til ke ladoo and chikki. My favourite kite used to be Chandtara. Given the current COVID scenario I'll stay in Mumbai only. It will be a muted celebration this year, I will take my daughter to the terrace of our building and fly a kite with her.

Given the current COVID situation, I intend to have a muted Lohri this year. I will go to the Gurdwara with my son Jaydon. We will also distribute revari and food to those in need because charity is an important part of this festival.