Cheers to a Dazzling Diwali!!

The time, for the whole country and its inhabitants to get bejeweled in sparkling lights and lamps and get adorned in every possible color that mankind has ever known possible, has arrived. It's Diwali! 

No words can describe the rush of emotions that just the utterance of this word brings. To celebrate it is pure concentrated joy. It brings out the essence of what friends and family mean to us. But the interpretation of this festival is very special and unique to each individual. 

We asked the celebrities to let us in on a slight bit of what this festival signifies to them…

Avinash Sachdev: 

Diwali is the festival of…
Enjoying with yourself, friends and family (smiles) 

Three people without whom your Diwali celebrations are incomplete
Parents, friends and grandparents!

If Diwali could be symbolized with a color, what color would you give?
A mixture of red and yellow…I guess it means orange (laughs)

Which is the sweet dish that you typically crave for during Diwali?
I love all sweets but typical of me to crave during Diwali is gulab jamuns and rasgollas.

Your Diwali shopping usually goes on for how many days?
If I get time then for unlimited days, but if I don't get time it is on for two days.

All environmentalists are urging for an eco-friendly Diwali. Do you feel they are interfering with the fun of Diwali?
I don't feel being eco-friendly harms Diwali in any way. We just need to keep the celebrations within limits.

Divyanka Tripathi:

Diwali is the festival of…
Umm…I'd rather put it as – Diwali is the time for grand family re-unions!

Three people without whom your Diwali celebrations are incomplete
Mom, dad, sister and brother
 
If Diwali could be symbolized with a color, what color would you give?
Red, because in Hindu tradition it's considered an auspicious color…and also because I love it!

Which is the sweet dish that you typically crave for during Diwali?
Gujiya

Your Diwali shopping usually goes on for how many days?
Well, when I'm at my hometown in Bhopal, it goes on for a month, but here it just goes on for a day or two. Even if I could afford a month's shopping here, I don't think it would be so much fun as my family is back in Bhopal.

All environmentalists are urging for an eco-friendly Diwali. Do you feel they are interfering with the fun of Diwali?
Umm…even I had stopped bursting crackers for a few years because of the environmental concern and all. But I feel eventually you should listen to your heart. If your heart tells you to do something, you should go for it.
 
Hiten Tejwani:

Diwali is the festival of…
Happiness.

Three people without whom your Diwali celebrations are incomplete
Family and fans.

If Diwali could be symbolized with a color, what color would you give?
Golden.

Which is the sweet dish that you typically crave for during Diwali?
I'm not someone who's into sweets, but during Diwali I just down a few kaju katlis. (smiles)

Your Diwali shopping usually goes on for how many days?
Half a day or one and half days.

All environmentalists are urging for an eco-friendly Diwali. Do you feel they are interfering with the fun of Diwali?
No, because if you go to see, global warming is a rising concern not just for environmentalists but for normal citizens too. Storms and tsunamis are increasing day by day, while on the other hand rains are decreasing. If you must have noticed, in our city (Mumbai) which is well known for its monsoon, it hardly rained in July-September when it should've been the heaviest. Who knows, if this trend continues we might end up having no rains at all. So the environmentalists are just trying to help us.
 
Barkha Bisht:

Diwali is the festival of…
Prosperity. It's because the start of the day is done by worshiping Goddess Lakshmi. But I mean it is not just in financial terms but also in terms of relationships and your home.

Three people without whom your Diwali celebrations are incomplete
Indraneil…and that's it I guess, as my world pretty much revolves around my husband.

If Diwali could be symbolized with a color, what color would you give?
Orange as it's the color of the sun and is an indication of bright and sunny things. (smiles)

Which is the sweet dish that you typically crave for during Diwali?
Gulab jamuns.

Your Diwali shopping usually goes on for how many days?
Just one day. (smiles)
 
All environmentalists are urging for an eco-friendly Diwali. Do you feel they are interfering with the fun of Diwali?
Personally I don't think they are interfering. With the global warming on such a rise I'm seriously scared that the future generation won't have such a nice earth to live in. And moreover in our country, all the festivals are overdone. Even for Diwali, the bursting of crackers starts a week before and will go on for a week after Diwali. I think the environmentalists just want us to tone down the scale of celebrations.

Kinshuk Mahajan:

Diwali is the festival of…
About good winning over bad.

Three people without whom your Diwali celebrations are incomplete
Mom, Dad and sister.

If Diwali could be symbolized with a color, what color would you give?
Goodness is represented by white color, so for me, Diwali symbolizes white color as it represents peace.

Which is the sweet dish that you typically crave for during Diwali?
Halwa, and chocolates.

Your Diwali shopping usually goes on for how many days?
I am a person who will start shopping just two days before the festival. So I will not end it till the last minute.

All environmentalists are urging for an eco-friendly Diwali. Do you feel they are interfering with the fun of Diwali?
Burning crackers is of individual choice, but I prefer celebrating Diwali in an eco-friendly manner with less of noise less pollution.

Rajshri Vaidya:

Diwali is the festival of…
Positivity, giving and hope.

Three people without whom your Diwali celebrations are incomplete
My entire family and friends.

If Diwali could be symbolized with a color, what color would you give?
Yellow.

Which is the sweet dish that you typically crave for during Diwali?
Karanji.

Your Diwali shopping usually goes on for how many days?
One or two days.

All environmentalists are urging for an eco-friendly Diwali. Do you feel they are interfering with the fun of Diwali?
No, I think they are just doing it for the betterment of society. They should only be encouraged for their efforts.

Jatin Shah:

Diwali is the festival of…
Joy, happiness and prosperity.
 
Three people without whom your Diwali celebrations are incomplete
Mom, Priya and grandpa.

If Diwali could be symbolized with a color, what color would you give?
White, the color of peace.

Which is the sweet dish that you typically crave for during Diwali?
As I'm a gujju I simply can't get over the sweet eating habit. But if asked to pick my favorite then it's got to be kaju katli.

Your Diwali shopping usually goes on for how many days?
Two days, not more than that(laughs)

All environmentalists are urging for an eco-friendly Diwali. Do you feel they are interfering with the fun of Diwali?
No. Not at all. They are definitely right. You have to care about the world also and not just get carried away with your celebrations. I'm a person who never bursts crackers, so I can understand their point of view.

Ragini Khanna:

Diwali is the festival of…
It's a festival of elimination of darkness that is why there is light everywhere.

Three people without whom your Diwali celebrations are incomplete
God, parents and friends.

If Diwali could be symbolized with a color, what color would you give?
Red

Which is the sweet dish that you typically crave for during Diwali?
Motichur Ladoo and Kaju Katli, simply love it.

Your Diwali shopping usually goes on for how many days?
My shopping usually goes on for a long time, but this year was different. I just did not get time to shop, owing to my hectic shoot schedules.

All environmentalists are urging for an eco-friendly Diwali. Do you feel they are interfering with the fun of Diwali?
No, Diwali is about fun and we should burst crackers. But it should be within a limit; the smoke that comes out is so bad and personally when I was kid, I never liked getting near the crackers.

Telly Buzz wishes all its readers a Very Happy and Prosperous Diwali...

Reporter: Susan Jose, Ranjini Nair
Author: Susan Jose