One of the popularly celebrated festivals in India, Diwali is around the corner and this year the celebrations are not likely to be grand and exquisite. All celebrations have been muted this year in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. Here's how Celebrities and Entrepreneurs are celebrating Diwali differently this year.
Rahul Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, Coffeeza
Diwali for me has always been about celebrating with family, which will be the highlight this year as well. This year, my family has decided on celebrating a green and safe Diwali. So, there will be no usage of fireworks or firecrackers of any kind. Our normal festive preparations will begin with getting the house cleaned, followed by decorating it with some flowers, eco-friendly diyas, and of course, rangoli. On Diwali, everyone will be dressed in new clothes, and the family will get together for the Puja. After that, we all will sit together and enjoy a nicely cooked traditional Indian meal accompanied with our favourite sweets. As we cannot go outside to meet relatives or friends this year, we will call them and share greetings over voice or video calls.
Chef Aditi Handa - Co-Founder & Head Baker, The Baker’s Dozen
This year Diwali will be an emotional affair for every member of the family, as during the lockdown we have been a strong pillar of each other's strength. On a personal level, it is really about celebrating how this year the entire family has gotten more time to spend together, with mother’s now becoming part-time teachers and me being an entrepreneur as well had more responsibilities to look after. As a family, we will be visiting a cow farm nearby to experience how loving farmers take such good care of their cows, the way they feed them and nurture them.
On both personal and professional level, we wish to do something better for our community as they deserve a Diwali full of happiness. On the professional front, we at the Baker's Dozen decided to 'Gift a Light' and support the 3rd generation Patan Patola Weavers by collaborating with the Patan’s Salvi family and launched the entire festive range of ‘#HandmadeArt Collection’ inspired by Patola Art. This highly esteemed weave is acknowledged by connoisseurs as a traditional and ancient art that needs to be preserved and promoted.
For me, Diwali is not just celebrating with the family but it is to do things that bring light to other's life as well.
Malini Agarwal - Founder MissMalini Entertainment
Well this Diwali is definitely different from previous ones. For me Diwali has always been about spending time with friends and family and celebrating things that you are thankful for.
In a sense, I will be celebrating Diwali in the same way but in much smaller groups this time. I am super excited about dressing up, haven’t dressed up in quite a while in the pandemic. Will have some yummy food and drinks obviously no crackers at all. Just spending some time with friends and the long weekend is always nice even though we have all been at home it's nice to get a whole full weekend off. Wishing you all a very Happy Diwali stay safe enjoy mindfully
Hitesh Bhojraj, Actor, Singer, and Voice over artist
This Diwali my family and I are deliberately making sure that we give business to local vendors, all our Diwali shopping be it for gifts or sweets it has been local, It's been particularly tough on them during this pandemic. For every festival my family and I associate with NGOs and organizations that we think are doing some amazing work towards causes that our close to our hearts, This Diwali too we are doing the same
Ashish Chanchlani, YouTuber, Digital Celebrity
Diwali celebration has been one of my favorite festivals since childhood. I used to be excited to have Mithayi's, wear new clothes, and burst the firecrackers with friends. This year due to the pandemic it's going to be different but interesting as we all are home with our families and wishing our friends on a video call and giving them hugs virtually. This year it's going to be "Indoor Diwali".
We have been calling for Kandils and decorative items from the stores but this time we planned to be a little creative and make it at home using some DIY ideas. I am also going to try making sweets at home.