The diva of Bollywood loves the festival of lights and you can tell that from the way she talks about it. The woman with the million-dollar smile, Madhuri Dixit Nene is all excited as she goes down the memory lane and shares fond memories of the festival with us.

Back to filming her upcoming project, Madhuri spoke to Bombay Times amidst her shoot. She said, “My kids have grown up now. They are environment conscious, so they don’t burst crackers, but when we moved back here from the USA, for the first two years, the kids were enthusiastic about firecrackers. Now we celebrate Diwali in other ways. We light diyas and I love doing Laxmi puja. That is one thing we never miss out on.”

The scrumptious Diwali delicacies is another favourite. Madhuri revealed, “I love the Diwali faraal and shankarpali is my favourite! They are delicious... sweet and salty, which is why I like them the most. When we were growing up, my mom used to make everything at home — the typical Maharashtrian Diwali cuisine (faraal) — chatpata chaklis, karanji, kaju katli, besan and ravyache laadu, shankarpali and motichoor laadoos. We were her helpers. I used to enjoy making chakklis with the saacha and then frying them. It was an opportunity for moms to teach kids how to make stuff, how to welcome people at home, be good hosts and good guests when you visit other homes. It’s a part of our social behaviour.”

The actress stresses on how this festival reminds us of our Indian tradition and culture. She elaborated, “Diwali signifies celebration; it's a time when families come together, which is a part of our Indian culture. It’s also an occasion to wear festive clothes and mingle with friends, which is not possible this year, so we will catch up with each other on video conferences. This year as we are celebrating Diwali and Children’s Day together, and we at Dance With Madhuri have decided to celebrate and spread the joy of dancing with some underprivileged children in Mumbai. We will be hosting a dance workshop for over 70 kids at St. Catherine’s Home.”