TLI Staff
New Delhi: Lohri and Makar Sanktranti, the harvest festivals of India bring along with them a lot of family time and festivities. An ode to Lord Soorya, it is believed that days start to get warmer post Makar Sankranti and Lohri.
TV celebs remember their fondest childhood memories of the festivals as they recall their kite-flying session of family and friends, eating khichdi, sweets made of Til and gorging on revdi, moongfali, popcorns and more.
Jasmin Bhasin
“The most fun part for me about Lohri is the lip-smacking traditional sweets. I am a big-time foodie, and especially on Lohri I binge on phulle, revadi, sarson da saag and makke di rotti. The best memory I’ve had about the festival is celebrating it in the chilly atmosphere in Rajasthan with all the tradition, I will always cherish that time.
Shaleen Bhanot
“Lohri has been one of my most beloved festivals since childhood and I have many memories attached with it. We Punjabi’s celebrate it with great pomp and show. Amongst all the rituals, sitting around the bonfire and the Punjabi Dhol is my favourite part. This year is going to be special because my parents are in town and I will be celebrating Lohri with them after a very long time.”
Tannaz Irani
“Every year on Makar Sankranti I look forward to flying kites and gorge on the traditional sweets of the season. While I am not a pro at flying kites, yet I try. The best part of the festival is that I get to celebrate it on set with my on-screen family. I am looking forward to meeting my friends and having a gala time with them during the festivities. I wish everyone a very happy Makar Sankranti.”
Neha Marda
“As a girl, I was quite conscious about getting tanned and about the bristles on my fingers, so I never went kite flying but yes I have had amazing memories about food. I used to wait for Sankranti to have Tilgudladoo and having Khichdi on Sankranti was like a thing and I used to love that. We used to get colorful kites, but I never went on the terrace as I always thought it’s a male-oriented thing and for me, food used to be a lot more exciting. I wish all the Zee Viewers a very happy Makarsankranti.”
Nimrit Kaur
“We, my the festival of Lohri like it is our new year. Every year I visit Gurudwara first thing in the morning and will visit even this year, depending on my shoot schedule. I’ll be celebrating the festival with the cast and crew of my show Choti Sarrdaarni. We also have a major Lohri sequence on the show which made me feel like it was the real celebration.”
Siddhant Vir Suryavanshi
“I have lived in Surat for 3 to 4 years and there Makarsankranti is a huge festival. My favorite memory is going on the terrace with all my friends and family for kite flying and then as a kid, I was very enthusiastic to buy different fancy kite threads, and because of the thread, there were bristles on my fingers. We also had kite flying competition amongst the buildings in our area which was fun, so these are all the memories that I cherish about Makarsankranti. Also, I would like to wish all the Zee Viewers a very happy Makarsankranti.”
Manit Joura
“I usually spend Lohri with my family. But unfortunately, it’s not possible for me to travel to Delhi this year. However, my mother has plans of visiting me during the festivities. And the best part of mom visiting is that she gets all the traditional Punjabi seasonal sweets which I am looking forward to. This year most probably I’ll be celebrating Lohri in my society complex with my neighbors. On the set of Kundali Bhagya too I’ll be celebrating the festival with my on-screen family. I feel every festival in India is important and I like to take part in all of them. I am extremely thrilled to celebrate the festival with my on-set family. I hope, the festivities bring joy and light in your lives. I wish everyone a very happy Lohri.”
Adhvik Mahajan
“The Lohri celebrations are surely going to be quite different this year but I prefer viewing it in a very positive light. Lohri marks a new beginning for all of us and I believe this is what we really need with the current pandemic still being a severe threat to most of us. The year 2020 has been quite a learning in disguise for us, it has taught us to face the worst and adjust our lives with minimum resources and taking all these learnings, I feel we must happily welcome this new beginning in our lives. Here’s wishing everyone a very happy Lohri and hope the beginning marks an abundance of happiness and luck in everyone’s lives.”
Anita Raj
“Being a Punjabi myself I always look forward to celebrating the festival. This year I am shooting but will celebrate with my family and close friends after the shoot. Fortunately, even on our show, we are shooting for a Lohri sequence so we will have a perfect pre-lohri celebration on the sets itself with my Choti Sarrdaarni family. I love sitting around the bonfire eating gazak mithai and most importantly enjoy doing Bhangra all night.”
Avinesh Rekhi
“The best thing about Lohri is that it falls in winters which is my favourite season of the year. I always make sure that I celebrate this festival in Chandigarh with my family and close friends but this year due to my work commitments I will be in Mumbai. I love gorging on food, sweets and most importantly the Lohri special groundnuts. I will celebrate the festival with my wife and kids once I am back home. It feels good to be sitting around the bonfire with all your near and dear ones close to you.”