Exclusive: Geeta Basra reveals her favourite Diwali memory, says “It was Hinaya’s first Diwali in Punjab”

Geeta Basra has been a part of films like Dil Diya Hai, The Train and others. The actress tied the knot with cricketer Harbhajan Singh in 2015, and in 2016, they welcomed their first child, Hinaya. In July this year, the couple was blessed with a baby boy and they named him Jovan.

Eastern Eye recently interacted with Basra and when we asked her about her Diwali plans, the actress said, “I am looking forward to celebrating the festival. We are in Punjab and it's going to be a beautiful celebration with my family. We have shifted into our new house, so it’s going to be a triple celebration because it will be with Hinaya, Juvan and shifting into the new house. The weather here is amazing; it’s nice, cool and pleasant. The decorations have already started. So, yes we are looking forward to it; Jovan’s first Diwali.”

When asked about her childhood memories of the festival, Basra said, “In London, we celebrate Diwali, but it’s not as flamboyant as here (India). There you do all that when it’s Christmas. But, we did our traditional aarti, the cleaning of the house and getting mithai (sweets). I remember as kids we used to get very excited when Diwali was coming because we would get the best outfits. As kids, these are the things you look forward to because growing up in the UK, for us the main function used to be Diwali. I and my sister would really get excited as we got a chance to wear the Indian outfits.”

Further revealing her favourite Diwali memory, the actress told us, “I remember one Diwali which is probably one of my favourite Diwalis. It was Hinaya’s first Diwali in Punjab, and she was one and a half years old. We had full dhamaka; we had dhol music and she was so happy. Even though she was just one and half years old, she was dancing, and that was my favourite Diwali ever because she was dancing and being so happy. We had this huge rangoli made and she was very excited seeing all the lights.”