Amitabh Bachchan had a rather quiet Diwali. This year the festival was about ‘roomful of family, each in their world of mobile’

Tribune Web Desk

Chandigarh, November 5

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s Diwali this year wasn’t the usual ‘fun and frolic’. It was rather a quiet festival for the actor and his family. Other than glimpse of his home, Jalsa, Big B was also seen going to his old house Pratiksha with his wife Jaya Bachchan, daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, son Abhishek Bachchan, daughter Shweta Nanda and his grandchildren Aaradhya Bachchan and Agastya Nanda. This was to light up Pratiksha and perform Diwali puja there.

The family looked their festive best with each one of them dressed in traditional Indian attires. While the men in the house wore varied shades of white kurtas with silver motifs, mother-daughter duo Aishwarya and Aaradhya were seen twinning. They were captured in their cars as they visited Pratiksha to mark the festival of lights.

Amitabh Bachchan felt nostalgic has he reminisced the annual Diwali celebrations that lit up Jalsa. As quoted by Indian Express, “The gaiety, the fun and frolic of the past .. the celebration of this festive day .. friends and well wishers at Jalsa and the night of light and brightness .. in the diyas of hope and prosperity,” he wrote talking about the party that was not held this year. Jalsa traditionally became the place to be for the who’s who of the industry as they celebrated India’s biggest festival with the Bachchan family. Talking about the muted celebrations, the actor added, “It has been deafeningly silent for a Diwali night.. no or hardly any sound of fire crackers … perhaps a GOI ruling against it, but even so an eerie silence about .. and a room full of family and each in his or her own world of the mobile .. what has the rapid communication done to us .. destroyed memory , remembering .. an answer to all on the net and a depletion of the mind and the brain to face upto the challenges, for public consumption and beyond.”

According to Indian Express, while talking about Covid-19 and impact it has had on lives, he said, “So much has changed in these past two years .. destruction yes but invention too .. and the ingenuity of the human species ..much has been said and written about it .. a reprieve then .. ‘tis not so sweet now as it was before.”

In his response to the countless Diwali wishes by his fans and well-wishers, Bachchan shared a throwback family photo of Laxmi puja on Twitter where we can see Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek, Aishwarya and Aaradhya. He wrote, “To the several that have sent wishes on this auspicious day, my gratitude and grace .. it shall be impossible to respond individually to all, so kindly take this as my thankful response.”