How Rhea Raj Got Ready for Lilly Singh's Diwali Bash With Sister Lara

In this as-told-to essay, singer Rhea Raj talks to contributor Shriya Bhattacharya about how she gets ready for Diwali, what the festival means to her, how she celebrated growing up, and her favorite beauty brands

Diwali is really all about family. Growing up in United States, I remember my grandparents coming over from India and staying with us for months at a time. I was really close to my grandmother, my Pati, who passed away two years ago, and she was such a powerful presence in my life. She and my grandfather made sure they sat with us during Diwali and told us all the stories of our culture like Ramayana.

Life moves so fast, and especially my sister Lara and I, we’re always traveling and working, so every year we take a moment to have dinner with our family and close friends. We light diyas and we have a beautiful setup in the corner with all the gods and goddesses we pray to.

For me, this festival comes down to food and fashion. Meals are such a big part of our culture, so we all cook together and have a feast. My family is originally from Chennai so we have a lot of South Indian dishes like rasam and kari kuta, but my dad grew up in Kolkata, so I love sweets, or mishti. My favorite is halwa — I swear my mom can turn any vegetable into that. I stopped eating dairy years ago, so we try to make everything with coconut milk, which is very South Indian, or almond milk or cashew milk.

Pati would also bring a whole suitcase of just bindis, accessories, and saris — she had a collection so huge that one whole bedroom was dedicated to racks and racks of saris. I still wear some of them, even on the red carpet. That’s where my love of Indian fashion really came from.

The party I’m getting ready for right now is Lilly Singh’s Diwali bash. Lara and I are going together, so we’re coordinating our looks. I always have at least three outfit options prepared and when I’m actually changing is when I make my final choice. Our friend Rumsha Hassan helped style Lara and me, and we finally decided on lehengas from Loveleen Sari Palace, a place here in California, and my top is from Honey Birdette.