My blogger friend Rachna did a wonderful post on Holi. I couldn’t wishe her back as I was too late to read it.
I am not quite sure why, but we south Indians are very vary of the festival. First of all no one is sure about what the festival is about. Only thing we know is there are lots of colour being spattered.
I first witnessed Holi when I was in college. One day a truck load of seniors rushed in. they started throwing the colours around. I was dumbfounded seeing all the cacophony. After all the mayhem we realized the real intentions. We boys were the least affected. The girls came out with lots of colour on their soft, chubby cheeks. The best part was the good looking ones had a multi-coloured rainbow on their boobs. The seniors came in hordes and grabbed whatever they could lay their hands on. Some even had the guts to go down to the butts. This day provided them a license to feel and vandalize the beautiful creatures.
All my years I never really understood why the girls didn’t feel like complaining. Well, I am no saint. After getting over the ‘fresher’ tag, I too tried my hand in getting a handful. But I was too shy and frightened of the prospect of getting jailed. So I didn’t stray far from the cheeks.
Worse, the colours were so cheap and irritating that days of shampooing never got it out of the hair. The irritation stayed on for days in the skin.
We used to hear the stories of how people are rolled through mud water during Holi. So while we were returning from Goa, we faced this predicament of coming across the Holi people. We got down at Margao bus stand and were walking to the railway station. We made double extra sure to avoid any loonies on the way. Then out of no where a dude came with colour. We begged him in broken Hindi.
‘Bhaiyya please! Saman haun. Yathra…’
He coolly said not to worry and did a blue tilak on our foreheads. That was a license to go unscathed. As soon as we reached the station we washed it off.
Nowadays I am too eager for the day after Holi. Our masala sites put up the third page gang celebrating Holi drunk and semi-nude. For them Holi must have some different idea. Sure, Holi gives me a high!
I am not quite sure why, but we south Indians are very vary of the festival. First of all no one is sure about what the festival is about. Only thing we know is there are lots of colour being spattered.
I first witnessed Holi when I was in college. One day a truck load of seniors rushed in. they started throwing the colours around. I was dumbfounded seeing all the cacophony. After all the mayhem we realized the real intentions. We boys were the least affected. The girls came out with lots of colour on their soft, chubby cheeks. The best part was the good looking ones had a multi-coloured rainbow on their boobs. The seniors came in hordes and grabbed whatever they could lay their hands on. Some even had the guts to go down to the butts. This day provided them a license to feel and vandalize the beautiful creatures.
All my years I never really understood why the girls didn’t feel like complaining. Well, I am no saint. After getting over the ‘fresher’ tag, I too tried my hand in getting a handful. But I was too shy and frightened of the prospect of getting jailed. So I didn’t stray far from the cheeks.
Worse, the colours were so cheap and irritating that days of shampooing never got it out of the hair. The irritation stayed on for days in the skin.
We used to hear the stories of how people are rolled through mud water during Holi. So while we were returning from Goa, we faced this predicament of coming across the Holi people. We got down at Margao bus stand and were walking to the railway station. We made double extra sure to avoid any loonies on the way. Then out of no where a dude came with colour. We begged him in broken Hindi.
‘Bhaiyya please! Saman haun. Yathra…’
He coolly said not to worry and did a blue tilak on our foreheads. That was a license to go unscathed. As soon as we reached the station we washed it off.
Nowadays I am too eager for the day after Holi. Our masala sites put up the third page gang celebrating Holi drunk and semi-nude. For them Holi must have some different idea. Sure, Holi gives me a high!
7 comments:
A belated happy Hoil
hey that sounds like the holi in my college...i too belonged to that creed of south indians who had no idea what the hell was going on...but i recall it being colorful, mad and drunk...
nice.
I read about this on Rachnas page also - I have never heard of it, but your college experience seems very different to the festivites that Rachna was describing!
First of all no one is sure about what the festival is about. Only thing we know is there are lots of colour being spattered.
well said
Good to hear you take, Jon :). I and the women I know would have slapped a guy who tried to get fresh the way you described it. Men strictly stray clear of any area below the neck for the ladies, and no decent girl would tolerate anyone touching her the way you described, so I am really wondering about the girls in your hostel :). You could read the story of Holika by googling it to know the reason behind Holika dahan. But, the color smearing on Holi or the accompanying dance and drama is actually a social way of welcoming spring in North India. The colors signify the vivid colors of spring. You are right, these days holi is celebrated as something of a herd thing and signifies more nuisance and hooliganism than anything else.
Thanks for liking my post :).
Rachna...girls might be too afraid to complain against some gang in their college who they see daily.
And it's not my HOSTEL...COLLEGE
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Sorry college. In such cases, girls must avoid playing holi.
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