Raima Sen is upbeat about spending quality time with her whole family in Kolkata this Durga Puja. And her plans definitely include her pet Dasho, says the actress who performed the dhunuchi naach – a traditional dance performed to dhaak (drum) beats – for us. She talks about her Durga Puja plans, shopping diaries and more. Excerpts:

My excitement starts way before Pujo. The Pujo asche feeling (the anticipation) is like a mood booster. The festivities have something truly special about them – you can feel it in the air and smell it too (smiles). You look around and see smiling faces and celebrations galore everywhere – positivity is abundant. In the run-up to the festival, looking at pandals being made and people shopping with enthusiasm makes you feel like you are already on a holiday. I love dressing up, wearing my sarees and jewellery – I’m in a great mood during this time of the year. And at times when I can’t be in Kolkata, my hometown, during Pujo, I get really sad. I must admit that Durga Puja brings out the best of all my avatars.

Oh yes. I have done it for a web series. Also, we sometimes do dhunuchi dance at Pujo functions too. So, I am learning the tricks. I had a lot of fun shooting for the dhunuchi naach sequence for this shoot!

Yes. In fact, we once danced together at a Pujo pandal. It was before the pandemic, we had so much fun!

I am spending Pujo in Kolkata. We were supposed to go to Goa, but the plan got canned. My sister Riya and her husband are here as well. So, I am looking forward to some quality family time as we don’t get to spend much time together. When we are in my hometown for Pujo, we go pandal hopping and meet our friends. Usually wherever I go, my pet Dasho will accompany me (smiles).

Oh, yes. I love to have bhog during Pujo. So many families send over bhog to our place during this time. My father is a foodie. Whenever he reads about a new restaurant, he notes it down, so we can try something new during Pujo. I love gorging on street food – jhalmuri to phuchka – during the festival.

Ma does all our Pujo shopping. Since she has a huge collection of sarees, she does not buy us new ones. But she gets us western and Indo-western outfits. She likes us to wear her sarees and jewellery. But wearing new clothes for Pujo is a ritual.

I did! I am extremely lazy and never learnt the tricks of applying makeup. But now, I think it is high time I picked up the nuances of doing it my own. It comes in handy.

During our childhood, dida used to buy us new clothes for Pujo. Later, as we grew up, she would give us money so we could buy according to our choice.

Not much. I only wear it for shoots at times. We treasure everything that belonged to her. The sarees are quite old now, so we handle them with care. We don’t want them to get torn.