Shrenu Parikh and her younger brother Shubham, who is based in the US now, won’t be able to celebrate Rakshabandhan together this year but plan to catch up next month and celebrate the festival then. The actress tells us, “I am in Mumbai and since Shubham isn’t around, we won’t be able to celebrate Rakshabandhan together this time. However, he is likely to come in September and we will celebrate it then. If we have time, we plan to go for a family outing to a nice destination.” Excerpts from a chat:
‘We have some fond memories associated with Rakshabandhan’
We have some fantastic memories associated with Rakshabandhan. Since we have not been able to be together every year, we celebrate it according to our convenience before or after the festival. I distinctly remember this one occasion when he had come from the US just for a day. So, he landed in Mumbai in the evening and I tied him a rakhi just before his return flight the next morning! Over the years, he has pampered me with gifts, and all my smartphones, best perfumes and watches have been gifted by him. He has a great choice in everything.
‘We were lucky to be together during the lockdown’
When I tested positive for COVID-19 in 2020, it was a scary situation but thankfully, Shubham was around. His mere presence was reassuring, and he drove me to the hospital, which gave me a lot of strength. He helped our entire family to stay positive during those extremely challenging times. We were lucky to be together during the lockdown.
‘I wish I could handle tense situations like Shubham’
While times have changed, we have only grown as individuals and got closer to each other. He loves travelling and whenever we meet, we make sure to travel to different destinations, be it Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, or cities in India. It has been a wonderful journey as siblings. We are children of working parents and so, I have looked after him since I was just six years old. During childhood, I was like his mother, but things have changed now. He has grown up to be an absolute gentleman, so balanced and mature, and he looks after all of us. Recently, he bought his first home and I feel very proud of him. We celebrate all our important milestones and achievements together and hopefully, there are many more of those to come! Whenever he comes to India, he loves to hang out with my friends and eat Indian food. We speak over the phone on weekends and chat almost daily. I just love the way he handles pressure and tense situations. There are times when I freak out and end up making a wrong decision or committing a mistake in such situations. However, he tackles it very patiently and I wish I had that quality.
