Banaras darshan for actresses Pallavi Gupta and Aastha Chaudhary

Three is a company, that too a great one, was proved by actor Siddharth Arora of Mukti Bandhan fame, who hosted Aastha Chaudhary, seen in teleshows like Kesari Nandan, and Sufiyana Pyaar Mera actor Pallavi Gupta on their recent trip to Varanasi, his hometown. The trio had a great time roaming about in the city.
“Both Pallavi and I wanted to come to Banaras for quite some time as I had heard a lot about the place but somehow the plan was not materialising and we had to cancel our visit several times.When Siddharth, who hails from the city, heard about it he suggested that why don’t we celebrate Pallavi’s birthday in Banaras. So this is how we eventually managed to come here and I must say it has been an amazing experience,” said Aastha, for whom it was her first time in Banaras.
For Pallavi, it was her second trip but that too a decade ago. “I had come to Banaras in 2009 for the shooting of teleshow Hum Ladakiyan during which we had shot on all the ghats and also in Banaras Hindu University for two months. So this trip had a lot of nostalgia of the time spent here ten years back. The memories of my earlier trip came rushing back, especially when I went to Assi Ghat where our major shooting happened. Not much has changed in the city except that it has become much more cleaner,” she said.
Pallavi Gupta, Siddharth Arora and Aastha Chaudhary (BCCL/ Arvind Kumar)
Really touched by the gesture of Siddharth who had arranged for the celebration of her birthday on a boat in the midst of river Ganga, Pallavi said, “It was the most ethereal experience. Siddharth is my rakhi brother, we played brother and sister in the show Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha, and since then we have a brother –sister bonding. I don’t have a brother in real life so Siddharth is like my brother. I cannot describe how I was feeling while cutting the cake on a boat, it was just amazing. There are certain things which money cannot buy and this was exactly was one of them.”
Siddharth made sure that his guests did not miss out on anything for which Banaras is famous for. “We went to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, had a magical boat ride and also did everything the Banarasis loves doing. I even took them for a midnight malai toast and chai treat at Lakshmi Chai in Chowk,” said Siddharth .
“That too in my night dress,” chipped in Aastha with a laugh. “We also enjoyed the Banarasi street food like kachori sabzi, jalebi, lassi, tamatar chaat and even paan. Everything was so yummy,” she added.
Self-proclaimed shopaholics both Aastha and Pallavi went back with bags full of Banarasi saris, dupatta, achar and papad among other things.
Aastha said, “Wherever I go, I make it a point to buy a sari for my mother. She has saris from all the places I have visited so far. A Banarasi sari will now add to her collection as I have bought some for her while for myself I have bought some beautiful Banarasi duppattas.”
Even Pallavi made sure that she bought a good collection of Banarasi duppatas. “Since I don’t wear saris neither does my mother, so I have bought a variety of duppattas. They are so beautiful that I could not resist buying loads of them.”
Despite a well spent four days in the city, both the actors want to come back to the city for more.
“The magic of Banaras has really caught me and it is a place where I really want to come back and spend some time,” said Aastha with Pallavi echoing the same feelings.