Meghana Erande Joshi of 'Sanai Choughade' recalls Diwali treats, lanterns and family traditions

With Diwali only a few days away, homes are filling with the aroma of festive snacks, colourful rangolis, akash kandils, new clothes and time with family. For actress Meghana Erande Joshi, who plays Pama Parab in Zee Marathi's serial 'Sanai Choughade', Diwali is a festival of joy, tradition and time with family. She shared several memories of the festival.

Meghana says that in her childhood Diwali was celebrated with her parents at Shivaji Park. She still remembers the homework given in the Diwali holidays, the separate notebook made for it and the fun of decorating it. Her mother made the festive snacks, her sister drew the rangoli and Meghana helped fill in the colours. Her father would bring a few firecrackers for her.

Her view on firecrackers changed in childhood itself. For a documentary, she had visited a firecracker factory. Seeing the suffering of the young children who made firecrackers there, and the effect of the chemicals on their health, she decided not to burst them. Even today she stays away from firecrackers as far as possible. So that their daughter Ila can have the experience, her husband Vikram has suggested bringing a small chakri or anar, but Meghana insists on avoiding loud firecrackers.

Her nephew Nihar is also a special part of her Diwali memories. He makes very beautiful kandils, so for many years he has been the one who prepares them for her. Nihar, who lives in Pune, also used to build forts with his friends. Meghana has enjoyed seeing the kandils and forts he made and sometimes helped him herself. The memory of everyone making kandils and forts together at Diwali is still fresh for her.

On festive food, Meghana is very fond of chakli, her mother's chivda, laddoos, shakarpara, sev and anarase. She says the aroma that spreads through the house as the snacks are made is what tells her Diwali has begun. Snacks are made in large quantities at her home and exchanged among relatives. In Dadar, the festive mood set in even before Diwali began. She liked the glitter of the market, the rush of shopping, the huge kandils and shopping for matching clothes. From footwear to bindis, bangles and earrings, she was keen to buy everything matching.

Meghana celebrated Diwali with her parents for about 28 to 29 years. For the last 16 years she has celebrated it with the family of her husband Vikram, the Joshis. Her mother-in-law has kept up a good tradition: a day of Diwali is celebrated at the home of each relative in the family. Lakshmi Puja is held at the Joshi family home, and on the other days all the relatives go to one another's homes for meals. This lets everyone meet and shares the joy of the festival with all.

Meghana feels a difference between Diwali then and now. Earlier, her mother would play the shehnai in the morning, the abhyanga snan was done with ubtan, the festive snacks were eaten and there was a rush to visit relatives. Snacks were made in the traditional way in every home, and many homes in a building showed similar kandils or lights. Now everyone celebrates Diwali according to their own taste and convenience. She says that though the form of the festival may have changed, its joy is still the same.

At home, both Meghana's mother and her mother-in-law cook very well, so they make most of the snacks. Meghana's job is to taste them and check the quality. Last Diwali she realised she could make good gujiya, so this time there is a chance she will help a little more with the cooking.

In 'Sanai Choughade', Pama Parab is connected with the snack-making business, so her house in the serial is always busy making chakli, chivda and laddoos. When Pama's marriage was fixed, she had also cooked the food and snacks herself. In the serial, Meghana also had the experience of frying chakli. Seeing the boiling oil in a large vessel, she was frightened at first, but when director Raju Sir encouraged her, she completed the shot. Ten to 12 kg of chivda was also made on the set for the serial. Meghana says that because of the role of Pama she is gaining experience in making festive snacks.

Meghana likes to celebrate Diwali with family, dressed up well and at a relaxed pace. In her view it is a festival that delights all five senses. The aroma of the snacks, the pleasure of touching a rangoli, the sound of Diwali songs, lights that please the eye and the excitement of the festive atmosphere all make the Diwali experience special. She has earlier hosted Diwali morning programmes with different artistes in several cities.