Kavita Seth
Singer
The festive season is a time for positivity and happiness. Diwali is also the time, when the entire house gets a fresh look. For this, I clean the house thoroughly and discard all unwanted stuff. I love linen cushion covers and bed covers and I get these beautiful pieces out, from my collection. As Diwali is synonymous with lights, I illuminate my home in various ways. For my family, Diwali is about delicious food and spending time together. I love to cook. So, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, cooking my children’s favourite dishes. I also have a sweet tooth and all health restrictions are forgotten, for couple of days.
Lighting diyas is simple and I consider it a stunning form of decoration. I adorn the entrance of my house with diyas. This year, I even picked up a beautiful ornamental rangoli for the house. I decorate the temple with various fresh flowers and buy new clothes for the deities. Fresh white flowers that lend a soothing ambience to the home, complete the décor for Diwali.
Ssharad Malhotra
Actor
Diwali, the festival of lights, is about the triumph of positivity. As I have been shooting and traveling, I could not devote much time to decorate my home, this year. Nevertheless, my mother has ensured that the house is ready for the festive season. Dinner with the family, with healthy dishes and some sweets, is how I like to celebrate the festival. Diwali, to me, is about spending a good time, with friends and family.
We spruce up the home and ensure that it is bright and clean. My mother likes to make a rangoli near the main door, with colourful fancy diyas and flowers. The temple is decorated with fresh flowers and fairy lights.
Kandeels (paper lanterns) capture the essence of the festival and are a must-have accessory. I also like to use fairy lights that twist and turn, to dress up any corner of the house and instantly jazz up the décor. The home should exude warmth and the décor should be subtle and sophisticated but not over-the-top.
See also: This Diwali, give your home a quick, festive makeover
Pooja Banerjee
Actress
Diwali symbolises the triumph of light over darkness. It is a time for togetherness, joy and celebrating a glorious Indian tradition. I love shopping and I use Diwali as an excuse, to buy kitchen items, new dinnerware, bed sheets, curtains and clothes. Enjoying delicacies with friends and family and having a good time, is what Diwali celebrations are all about.
This year, I have bought a new wooden temple. I start cleaning the house at least a week in advance and give away things that are not needed. I like to decorate my house with lots of flowers, candles and diyas. Floating candles, amidst flowers in a simple glassware or a brass urli, makes a great decorative piece and adds a traditional touch to the ambiance.
know about: singer shaan house
Meera Mahadevia
Designer
Diwali is the time to be aware of one’s inner light and to spread joy. It signifies a new beginning and is a time to let go of all that is negative. For the festival, every nook and corner of the home is cleaned and all metal ware is polished and the chandeliers are cleaned. I like to spruce up the home by adding ethnic fabrics, artifacts and colours. I celebrate the festival with full zeal and the entire family spends time together. We perform a puja at home. The temple at home is decorated with flowers and lights.
Flowers bring freshness into the home and create an atmosphere of celebration. On my terrace, I have different kind of flowers. On Diwali night, the entire terrace is illuminated with lights and diyas. I have bought carved, leaf-shaped metal diyas, which I will use inside the house, at the entrance and even on the staircase. The dining table is aesthetically laid with brocade table linen, mogras, roses and silverware. Apart from diyas, I also use sandalwood aroma to create a festive atmosphere at home.
Deepshikha Nagpal
Actress
Diwali is a time to clear all that is negative and unwanted and start afresh. Hence, I start preparing for Diwali, by clearing the clutter at home, which in turn, brings in lots of positivity. I donate unused clothes and other stuff to NGOs. I will be shifting to a new home soon. So, I have bought a lot of new things from exhibitions, such as lamps, curtains, bed covers and artifacts.
For Diwali, each room is illuminated with twinkling lights. The children’s room will have yellow light, the living room orange and so on. I am fond of making traditional, coloured powder rangoli, to deck up the home’s entrance, to welcome Goddess Lakshmi. I also decorate the temple with fresh marigold flowers and light camphor at home. Beautiful candles and diyas spread a warm glow and add magic to the atmosphere.
Diwali 2016: This is how your favourite celebs celebrate Diwali…
Each year, during Diwali, home owners spruce up their apartments and decorate it with colours and lights. Housing.com News speaks to a few celebrities on what the festival of lights means to them and how they will beautify their home for the celebrations
Sanjeev Kapoor
Celebrity chef and author
Besides food, the best thing about festivals, is the decoration of one’s home. My house remains decorated, right from Navratri till the new year. Diwali is special and this is reflected in our home’s colourful décor. Our home is lit up with colourful LED strip lights, which look magical. For the living room, we use different kinds of energy-saving lights. Traditional oil diyas and different ornamental candles, are a must during the festival of lights.
I have picked up elegant silver artifacts from my various trips, which I will use to decorate my house, this year. For the kitchen and dining table, I like fancy cutlery, napkins and fresh flowers. My wife Alyona and my mother, decorate the temple area, roses, mogras and lamps. Diwali is incomplete, without a colourful rangoli at the entrance.
Shaan (Shantanu Mukherjee)
Singer
The entire decoration for Diwali, is done by my wife Radhika, who loves doing up the home, for celebrations. She puts fairy lights on all the windows, floating candles in various places in the house and a vibrant toran on the main door. Our living room, this year, has new upholstery. We have a swing in our lounge area, which is decked up with flowers.
Radhika supports small businesses and buys these things from them, instead of a store. On the day of Lakshmi puja, we decorate the temple with fresh fragrant flowers and buy some jewellery and silver.
I love celebrating Diwali with my family.
Rashami Desai
Actress
Diwali is all about happiness, revelry and one’s family coming together. We begin preparations for the festival in advance and the home is thoroughly cleaned.
There is nothing more welcoming, than a sparkling clean home. It energises the place and gives a positive vibe. I like to dress up the home in soothing pastel colours. The entire home is also illuminated with colourful diyas. I also love the gentle glow of candles and hence, I intend to place fancy floating candles all around the house.
Along with colourful lights, I will also decorate my house with orchids and white flowers. On the main door, I usually hang a traditional toran of marigold and mango leaves, while the temple area is decorated with lamps and lots of flowers.
See also: Dussehra décor tips from the celebs
Shibani Kashyap
Singer
This Diwali is special for my husband and me, as we have just moved into our new home in Mumbai. So, everything is new – from the curtains and furniture, to the lamps and the lights. Our house will be decorated with diyas, floating candles and flowers. The living room will have various lamps and candles, all over the tables, shelves and mantelpieces. The windows will have fairy lights.
In the temple, I will have an oil lamp with a glass cover. A beautiful silver Ganesha, which was gifted to me by my friends, will adorn the temple.
I also love rangolis and so, I will decorate the home’s entrance with a rangoli with powder colours.
Shantanu Maheshwari
Dancer and actor
Diwali is a time for celebrating togetherness, joy and most importantly, our tradition. My mother does all the preparations, well in advance. Firstly, the house is thoroughly cleaned and everything is well-organised.
On the day of Diwali, we decorate the mandir with fresh lotus flowers and perform a pooja. I also deck up the home with colourful kandeels, fairy lights and a toran on the main door. My mother makes a rangoli at the main entrance, as this is supposed to welcome Goddess Lakshmi. She also prepares sweets like petha, barfi, chakkli and several special dishes. The food is served in fancy crockery and we all have a feast.
Ssharad Malhotraa
Actor
Diwali is the festival of lights.
It is the time to be aware of one’s inner light and spread warmth all around. I try and get a lot of new stuff for my home. Drapes and furnishings are the easiest ways, to create a new look for one’s home, during the festive season.
Hence, I have bought new curtains, bed covers, exquisite lamps and diyas, for my home. I will hang fairy lights on the windows and keep diyas all around. The temple will be decorated with flowers, beautiful lights and traditional oil diyas. I like to use aromatic oils, like sandalwood and camphor, as they make the temple area smell divine.
Purnima Goswami Sharma is a freelance writer based in Mumbai, who has been contributing to various newspapers, magazines and portals for the last two decades. Besides being a research writer for various TV shows, she has been a visiting faculty at SNDT for Communication Skills. She hold a master’s degree in English Literature from Mumbai University and a diploma in Communications and Journalism. She writes on diverse subjects like real estate, interiors, education, lifestyle, health, entertainment and environment.
Email: [email protected]
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