Vaishalee Thakkar loves winters because it’s the season all about food, festivities and music!

Everyone has their favourite season. For Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 2 actor Vaishalee Thakkar, she enjoys both winter and monsoon.

“Winter means fun. There are many festivals during this time. Diwali is also kind of the beginning of winter, and during December there are holidays for Christmas, New Year. When going outdoors, winters are always pleasant. When the season changes, everything about the place, the mornings are so different, the food is so delicious and because of that, the whole experience of the season is so beautiful. When you go to Gujarat during winters, you are served Chai and Pok (green jowar). I just love this combination along with pepper sev and sugar. Also, Undhiyu is another delicacy from Gujarat that I love to have during winter. While shooting in Punjab I gorged on aloo ke paranthe dipped in butter, milk and malai for breakfast. Their hospitality and warmness makes you have. Their jiggery treats are also famous. Even the kada prasad that you get from Gurdwaras tastes heavenly during winters. They rightly say that the season is all about food, festivities, and music,” she adds.

Agreeing that Mumbai does not get winters, she shares “Two or three days people can be seen wearing sweaters, or else Mumbai is quite warm. There is a joke that people wear sweaters in Mumbai if it is cold in Delhi… Right now all the shoots are happening in Naigaon and the road journey is really amazing as it is so beautiful and misty in the morning. The drive is amazing, because I live in Dadar and travel all the way to Naigaon and it becomes hectic, but winter mornings are refreshing and beautiful.”

The entertainment industry usually doesn’t get long holidays, given their busy schedules. Vaishalee who doesn’t enjoy short getaways, therefore plans his vacation in advance.

“I don’t like short holidays because there is this constant pressure of getting back to work. If I have a long shoot then I never take a break, after I wind up, I take a two month break and I jet off to some place. The place I mostly visit is America as a lot of my maternal side of the family stay there. I also visit family, relatives and friends and relatives in Gujarat,” she reveals.

Talking more about her winter favourite delicacies, she says, “Being a Gujarati, I love Undiyu. Every year, my sister, who lives in Surat, sends us the green veggies that are required to make Undhiyu. Falguna ben (clarify) always sends a huge pack and then we make it at home. We give it to our friends and organise an Undhiyu party. There is something called Khajali from Surat which is prepared with pepper, especially during winters. Then there is Gajak that I also get from Rajasthan. There are also Gunder Pak, dry fruit pak, meethi pak and so on. The best part of winter is that you get amazing vegetables and fresh salads and soups that me and my family enjoy for dinner.”

Keerti Kadam.