“I hail from Amritsar (Punjab) and as a kid, I fondly remember waking up to a sky full of kites on Lohri,” says Sukhwinder Singh, as he recalls his childhood memories of the festival. The singer would look forward to a day full of festivity, food, music and kites!

“Lohri, for me, is all about kites. Back in the day, we never had the harmful manjhas. We would use simple strings and manjhas. I remember, there would be lakhs of kites in the sky. I would be on the terrace, flying kites for hours. I still do that, no matter where I am. It’s my Lohri ritual. In fact, I was in San Francisco (USA) on Lohri once and I spent four hours flying kites there as well,” recalls the Rabba (Cuttputlli; 2022) singer.

Singh feels that Lohri “unites people”. He adds, “I feel that is the beauty of this festival. People from different religions and cultures come together for the evening celebration. Everyone offers rewari, gur and chana to the bonfire. In fact, in Punjab, you would find people singing Sundar Mundariye Ho, the traditional Lohri song, at every nook and corner.”

Ask about his favourite Lohri number and he goes on to sing Sundar Mundariye Ho for us. But now that he resides in Mumbai, does he miss Punjab on the day of the festival? “Nahin, main jahan bhi hota hoon, wahan Lohri utne hi utsaah se manaata hoon jaise Amritsar mein manaata tha. Main kahin bhi hoon, aag jalaa kar usmein rewari, gur, chana zaroor daalta hoon,” says the Lohri Waale Din Sab singer, as he goes on to share how the festival inspires him as an artiste and human being.

“The atmosphere on the day of Lohri is so energetic. The happiness you see on people’s faces when they dress up, sing and dance is infectious. I love the energy that I experience by being near the bonfire and praying there. It instils me with a lot of confidence and self-belief,” Singh signs off.