Diwali 2022: Celebs Talk About Their Fondest Childhood Memories Of The Festival Of Lights

The long weekend of Diwali is here. People everywhere are excited about the festival of lights. From shopping, to visiting family and friends to eating out, people have made a list of things they would be doing to celebrate the festival. Celebs too are no different.

Here are some of the most popular celebs sharing their fondest memories of Diwali, and also revealing what’s the significance of this festival to them.

Barkha Singh

Diwali for me has always been a really close-knit affair. I spend time with my family, my closest friends and my loved ones. Very early in my life, I stopped bursting crackers because I saw the effect they had on the environment, especially on the birds and animals. I prefer celebrating Diwali with a lot of Diya’s and a lot of amazing food and sweets which also means a lot of cheat days on and around Diwali. It's a very happy festival for me and I would love for it to be a happy festival for our furry friends and birdies as well and I hope that people are responsible about bursting crackers.

Anuj Sachdeva

I wanted to celebrate Diwali with my parents in Delhi, but I have a dog Simba here whom I have adopted and can’t leave him alone here. So, I will be here in Mumbai and my parents too can’t come as my mother recently went through a heart surgery. I will be keeping a party on 21st October for my near and dear ones and the people whom I have worked with. So, it’s something I will be looking forward to after so many years. Diwali is very auspicious for me. I used to read the Katha, do the Lakshmi puja, and worship in the temple with my family. Diwali is an occasion of hope and welcoming good times. This is the time when celebration’s start and welcome happiness. This time we are pandemic free so I am happy that we can go and meet the people and hug them without wearing the mask and that’s the feeling of closeness and look at their smiles without the mask. I have been missing all this. My fondest memories have been eating a lot of sweets and the freedom of doing everything and going to meet our relatives. That was the time when all of us used to be celebrating together and cracking jokes. I miss my dada and dadi the most.

Prateik Babbar

What is Diwali without friends and family? Spend as much time as you can with your loved ones this Diwali. Shower them with all your love and send gifts to make them feel special. Sending my warm wishes and hugs to you. May this Diwali be your brightest.

Priya Banerjee

The colors, the light and the euphoria of festivity is something I always look forward to. Diwali is all about lights, fun and prosperity. This time again I will light up my house with candles and diyas, however I am not fond of crackers since it causes noise and air pollution and I do not endorse any such thing. I would like to request to be safe and protect our environment and celebrate Diwali in eco- friendly way.

Navin Prabhakar

I will meet all my friends and decorate the home with lights and flowers. For the past two years we haven’t celebrated with full joy so this time there will be great celebrations. Many of my friends have invited me to their place so I am planning to go there after Diwali. I would be celebrating Diwali at my home, doing all the Pooja and rituals and celebrating in a traditional way. The significance of Diwali is to celebrate this festival with family members. Last time during Diwali we went to Lonavala and spent some quality time with family. Our dad used to take us to market as the whole place would be decorated with lights. We used to buy new clothes and some crackers and then we used to eat ice cream together which at times used to be one rupee. That time, Diwali used to be one day but now since all of us have grown up we celebrate this festival from 5 days ago and we meet and greet friends. I remember that I used to go to Karnataka at my friend’s house and used to stay there. This time we have planned to surprise our school friends and meet everyone.

Apoorva Arora

Diwali for me is to spend time with my parents without any distractions so it’s extra special for me. I especially look forward to all the shopping we do together. My earliest memory of Diwali is my dad printing out “Say no to crackers” circulars for me to distribute at school. I also make sure I host a get together for my friends who don’t go home for Diwali.

Saanand Verma

I'll be in Mumbai on Diwali and definitely this year's celebration is different and everybody will be very joyful and tension free. The celebration will be like before. I'm really looking forward to Diwali. Significance of Diwali is that it is very important and big. It's something which signifies our tradition, our history and it is my most favourite festival. I'm always excited about Diwali. We perform Puja in our house. Puja of Maha Lakshmi and we use some eco Fire crackers. We lit a lot of Diyas and decorated the entire house. It's amazing. My childhood memory regarding Diwali is not great but very sad because we were not financially very strong. I remember during Diwali I didn't have any firecrackers to enjoy and my neighbours were enjoying it and I was very sad. So, I will never forget that night. But now I really enjoy and have a great time and God has made it up to me and all the sorrows, negativity, sadness associated with Diwali from my childhood has disappeared now and I'm the happiest man on Diwali.

Ishita Dutta

I enjoy festivities, thus I eagerly anticipate Diwali. I enjoy celebrating festivals, whether it's Holi, Diwali, or Christmas. This, in my opinion, is what our nation possesses, and it is lovely. I really enjoy spending those 3–4 days in Mumbai over Dhanteras and Bhai Dooj. We perform Laxmi pooja, decorate the home, and greet everyone. Always have a good time.

Nyrraa M Banerji

Diwali plans have always stayed the same since childhood. On Diwali evening we do Lakshmi Puja and Bengalis do Kali Puja at 12 o'clock at midnight. We do chauda (14) diya the pre-Diwali eve where we invite the Goddess Lakshmi to come into our house and visit us and bless us. We make sweets, go to Pandals to take blessings and we do meditation so that we reach the highest vibration at that point and ask the universe to bless us with a lot of abundance and opportunities. I'm going to be In Bombay this Diwali.

Mitu

Diwali is the best festival for the family. We plan to celebrate it full on. In the lockdown also we celebrated but in a small manner but this year, parties and get together are in the cards. Diwali means a lot to me as it’s the one tradition I have kept alive from childhood. It means many things to me, but to sum it up, let’s say it is going back and touching base with my childhood. Diwali also means a lot to me as I was born on Choti Diwali so it’s also my birthday celebrations according to the Indian calendar. I will be in Mumbai with my family. We do pooja at the office (with my core team as everyone else is busy) and my friends are like family. In the evening we do ghar mein pooja followed by lighting Diya’s and then chilling together with fam and friends. Fondest childhood memories are meeting family and getting together for traditional card sittings at everyone's house. That is how we as kids got to know them as relatives. We had sessions at everyone's houses and we looked forward to the 5 crazy days of Diwali.

Malishka

Diwali is my most favorite festival. It’s vibrant and positive. From decorating the house to receiving and giving gifts, earing home made sweets, visiting each homes, dressing up… it is something I look forward to. Let’s make everyone Diwali a special this time and make a point to buy things from the small shops too. Those 3-4 days lets just spread love & light in each other’s lives in whatever way we can.

Arun Mandola

I am very much excited this year but I will make Diwali in Mumbai only. I am not going to my home town because I just went home in Dussehra so this Diwali I have some very social plans. I am going to distribute sweets to poor children and some gifts to those who are not able to celebrate this beautiful festival. As I learnt from my childhood, Diwali is a very auspicious festival. I always wait for Diwali because you get the opportunity to eat sweets and delicious food. Apart from this whenever the Diwali festival has come the positive energy has changed around you but honestly speaking I enjoyed a lot of Diwali at my hometown only because Delhi is more LIVE and energetic compared to Mumbai in terms of festivals. People are too busy to decorate their house and rest are busy shopping. This is speechless for me to describe my happiness for Diwali because it’s one of my favourite festivals.

Avinesh Rekhi

Let's celebrate the festival in the true sense by spreading joy and lighting up the world of others. Spend time with your loved ones but don't burst crackers. Have a wonderful Diwali and a great New Year!

Ishaan Singh Manhas

Like every year, this year I will be celebrating diwali with my family in Delhi. And if I get an extra day's break from my shoot then I will attend the card parties hosted by my old friends in Delhi. Diwali is the festival of lights. It symbolizes the victory of good over evil, light over darkness. For me it's the festival when my family comes together for puja, celebrations and a special family dinner. I will be in Delhi, my hometown. When I was a kid, the pollution level in Delhi was lower. Those days fire crackers were not banned and me and my family and my childhood friends used to burn all kinds of crackers. Those were the days when diet didn't matter and I used to eat lots of diwali sweets. Family friends used to visit our home with gifts and I was always excited to see those gifts. Me and my friends used to attend all the popular Diwali Melas/Fairs in Delhi which had games and food stalls and rides on giant wheels.

Nikita Dutta

My favourite holiday is Diwali because the atmosphere is so upbeat and joyful during that time. I always look forward to visiting each other's homes, from creating sweets to decorating the place. This Diwali, let's go above and beyond by making it a point to shop at small businesses as well. During those three to four days, let's simply spread love and light wherever we can.

Priyanshu Painyuli

The early Diwali memories from my childhood days were in Bangalore. I grew up in an army colony. We were four siblings - me, my two sisters and my two brothers. The main thing used to be getting up early the previous day or on the day of Diwali for cleaning the house. We all used to be designated tasks by both of our parents. My dad was never very strict despite coming from an army background. We have always been very very keen on cleanliness. And especially during Diwali you want your house to look beautiful and you want to decorate it, so, for me, the cleaning of the house began in the morning, no matter if it was cleaning of the fans or windows. All four siblings who were designated different tasks were supposed to do it in a fixed amount of time. We all used to get into it as if it was a game. Then by evening, we used to get dressed traditionally in our new kurtas and decorated our house with diyas. Yeah, the day used to be more like a family day and I wish to have more of that.

Prateik Chaudhary

For the last 1 year I have been celebrating every festival, every occasion, even my birthdays with my team Sindoor Ki Keemat, So this diwali I will celebrate with my team and family. After shooting I will go home, do pooja, spend time with family, eat sweets and enjoy the festival with my family. Diwali is one of my favourite festivals. Diwali is the festival of lights that is celebrated with much joy and enthusiasm across the country. "It is a time for cleaning houses, getting together with neighbours, family, and friends. On this occasion, diyas and lamps light up the entire country and the sight is truly beautiful. There's many, but one I remember the most is my dad used to buy us crackers a lot, but still I was never satisfied with those limited crackers, so I used to steal money from my dad's pocket and buy more crackers, I was really fond of it when I was a child. But now I am totally against it, I think it's not good for the environment. Second, I also remember that I used to be very naughty when I was a kid, used to do a lot of mischief in which I also burned myself while doing stunts with crackers.