Actors Vatsal Sheth and Ishita Dutta welcomed a baby girl on June 10. The couple, already parents to son Vaayu, couldn’t be happier as their wish for a daughter has come true. Vatsal shared, “We became parents around two years ago for the first time when Vaayu came into our lives. This time, we were hoping for a baby girl and our dream has come true. We are overjoyed. Our family is now complete.”

Talking about how Vaayu reacted to the arrival of his sister, Vatsal said, “Vaayu is about to turn two, so he doesn’t understand much. We kept telling him that a baby will be entering our lives and will be his little sister/brother. When he saw her, he was very happy and gave her flying kisses.”

Meanwhile, the actor has decided to take a short break from work. “I have consciously taken a small break from work because this is family time and I want to spend it with my family. They need my full attention, love and care.”

An elated Ishita told us, “We are happy and excited. The best moment was when we saw Vaayu’s reaction. It was priceless. I can’t wait to see them grow up as siblings. It will take a few days for the fact to sink in that we have a daughter now. I am looking forward to this new journey with Vatsal and our kids.”

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Vatsal Sheth, known for TV shows like Just Mohabbat and films like Taarzan: The Wonder Car, is in Ahmedabad currently to dub for his debut Gujarati film. As he stepped out with us for an Uttarayan shoot, he told us, “While Vaayu (his son) is just five-and-a-half months old, I have bought small kites and firkis for him on this trip. They are really cute and since it’s his first Uttarayan, this is the best gift that I could think of for him. I am sure that once he grows up, he would love to fly kites, just like his dad!” Excerpts from a chat:

I feel lucky to be in Ahmedabad this Uttarayan and I will be flying kites at my friend’s (filmmaker Apoorva Lakhia) pol house in the city. Nothing can match the way Uttarayan is celebrated in the pols. Last year, I travelled to Bhavnagar, where I have a few relatives, just to fly kites with them. Uttarayan is among my favourite festivals and I think it’s (flying kites) is in every Gujarati’s blood!

I have celebrated Uttarayan in Ahmedabad earlier also and once, Ishita (Dutta Sheth, his actress-wife) had also tried her hand at flying kites. Earlier, she used to think that flying kites is easy; lekin uss ne 20 patang udaane ki koshish ki, and she was finding it difficult. Then I helped her in flying one kite, lekin woh bhi do second mein kat gayi! She realized that it’s not easy and one has to be very alert and aware while flying kites.

Even if I am shooting during Uttarayan, I make sure to carry kites and firkis to the sets. While doing the show Haasil, Zayed Khan and I had flown kites together on the sets. I have also celebrated the festival in Madh Island while shooting for other TV shows.

I was born and brought up in Mumbai and although Uttarayan celebrations there can’t match the way it is celebrated in Gujarat, we used to have a lot of fun. About three or four days before the festival, we would visit the kite markets and buy kites. My friends and cousins buy kites and manjha for me from Surat, which are of great quality.

The quality of kites and manjha is crucial when you are looking forward to flying kites for the entire day. The preparation also involved buying tapes and finger protection gloves.

Just the night before Uttarayan, all the friends would get together. Hum agarbatti se kites mein holes karte thay, aur phir kinya bandhte thay. From the next morning, we would be on the terrace for the entire day and woh pench ladane mein jo maza hai, that can’t be described in words. We would also shout ‘lapet’ and ‘kai po che’ at the top of our voice.

Raat ko hum kandeel bhi udate thay, and there would be competitions for that. Uttarayan is also about relishing homemade delicacies. My mom makes amazing chikkis (til chikkis, peanut chikkis and murmura chikkis) and I love gorging on undhiyu and chikkis. She also makes delicious aadu paak (adrak ka halwa). I also love eating mathiya and cholafali.