“My entire family usually comes down to my village in Rajasthan on Diwali as my grandparents still live there. I wasn’t able to make it in the last three years and this year, I thought it would be nice to go and meet everyone,” says Kirti Kulhari, who reached Jaipur last weekend and is enjoying the cold weather and is looking forward to spending time with her cousins and relatives.

“Due to the lockdown, no one met anyone for most of the year and everyone was stuck in their homes. My grandparents, too, were on their own throughout the lockdown. My sister, too, has come from Chandigarh with her kids. Meeting family in the times of the Coronavirus pandemic all around the world and knowing everyone is fine means a lot. So, this year, I decided to be there and celebrate Diwali with everyone, which is what festivals are all about — being with your loved ones,” says the Four More Shots Please! actor.

She is excited about the reunion and to meet her uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces and has boughts gifts for them including Banarasi saris, gifts for kids. Kulhari reveals that she is not a “festival person”, she has bought a lot of stuff for her new house.

“I like to keep things low-key on festivals. In my village, we will have the Laxmi puja in the evening, followed by home-made delicious dinner, and being together. We don’t do rangolis in the village house as there is a lot of mitti around and due to the wind, everything gets blown away. But we will light a lot of diyas and decorate the house with flowers. And winters is the best season to be in Rajasthan,” she says.

With Covid-19 taking a toll on many, Diwali might not be as much a celebration for some people. “For many people, it will be a different, quieter and not-so-inclusive Diwali this year,” she concludes.