Ashi Singh reminisces about the beautiful old days from her childhood when playing Holi was carefree. She spent her childhood in Uttar Pradesh where she lived in a joint family setting and playing Holi was all about having family and cousins all around and playing mischievous pranks was a part of the festival. In an exclusive chat, she shared her favourite memories from her childhood, “When I used to live in my home town, my cousins and I had homes just next to each other so we used to have celebrations on the terrace of our home. The preparation used to begin days in advance but because water supply was not available for 24 Hours we used to wake up early in the morning at around 5 am and fill balloons and keep. Those memories are forever etched in my heart”.
Movies and Television and especially the songs have always elevated the mood of the festival. “‘Balam Pichkari’ is a whole mood. The vibes of that song and the picturisation of the song are just excellent. ‘Holi Khele Raghuveera is a classic and it has a complete Holi vibe” says Ashi on her favourite scene or song that sets her Holi mood right. Apart from the songs, this festival is all about following the various traditions, “Applying oil on hair and body is a must. I don’t skip that part even by mistake. In fact, I do hair oiling a day in advance so that I have layers of oil. I also try and wear full-sleeved clothes for the least exposure to colours” says Ashi as she declares her Holi traditions.
Holi in Vrindavan or Pushkar has become a constant question in the minds of travellers but for Ashi, it’s either Uttar Pradesh or Mumbai, “There is not much difference. Earlier we used to have so many varieties of colours. Now, that things have changed, it’s more organic Gulaal and only to a certain limit. But yeah Mumbai or UP I like to play Holi with my close circle”.
You must have heard the phrase”Bura Na Mano Holi Hai” (Don’t feel bad, it’s Holi) and that’s because playing pranks on others is another tradition that people like to follow in this festival. Ashi was no different in her childhood and always dreamt of playing a prank on her father, “I and my cousins used to make sure that we were fully ready with colours and water balloons a day in advance. Our plan used to be to make a moustache on my father before he wakes up! But by the time we could do that to him, he used to do that to us. So we only wished to play prank but it was us who got pranked always”.
Holi is all about having the best food and having endless laughter and for Ashi is no different as for her it’s all about family. She says, “Even though I’m very conscious about colours now because we have to be skin conscious but without colours, there is no Holi and those beautiful gulaal colours are very difficult to avoid. Similarly, Without family no festival is complete so they have to be around”. Ashi also makes sure to be conscious not only about her skin but also the planet and requests her fans to do the same. She says, “As we were kids the water balloons felt justified. Things were different back then. Now there is a water shortage everywhere. I would only request all to play Holi wholeheartedly but don’t forget to be conscious about the planet”. Ashi is known for popular shows like ‘Ye Un Dino Ki Baat Hai’ and ‘Meet: Badlegi Duniya Ki Reet’ post which the actress has been using her time to follow her passion for travelling and learning new skills.
