Holi is just round the corner.....the very mention of it brings back colourful memories of this lovely festival from my childhood spent in Telco Colony.
The preparation for holi usually started with collecting material for 'Holika dahan'. We children used to roam around to collect dry sticks and branches. As we piled these into a single large heap, the elders would also join us with their contribution....we would imagine the size of the bonafire and feel very happy. After all, we had to give tough competition to other neighbourhoods in the vicinity!
The mythology says that 'Holika', Prahalad's aunt, was asked to sit on a pyre with Prahalad in her lap. Since Holika had the boon that fire couldn't destroy her, it was a sure death for Prahalad. But the fire engulfed Holika leaving Prahalad intact. People celebrate the death of Holika, the demon sister of Hiranyakashipu, by lighting a huge bonafire. The fire engulfs all that is evil on the eve of holi to pave way for the celebration of love and goodness.
As it got darker and darker on the eve of holi, people used to gather around the large bonafire. After lighting it, people went around the bonafire singing songs. It used to be a wonderful sight to see the huge flames trying to reach the sky.
After going home, we selected some old, faded dresses to be worn the next day. We kept our colour packets and pichkaris in the balcony. My sister and I found it very difficult to sleep the previous night with so much excitement in the air......we discussed ways of attacking other kids with water colours.
Our day started very early on the day of holi. After a quick breakfast we changed into our old dresses and rushed out with the pichkaaris and packets of colours. We ran to our friends' homes with the intent of surprising them but we in turn were attacked by others spraying water colours on us. Within minutes, all of us turned colourful. The water didn't bother us much because we ran here and there chasing our friends.........screaming and laughing all the way....most of the households kept buckets of water outside so that we kids did not mess the homes.Some older kids especially boys annoyed us with Gobar paani ( Cow dung water) and oil paints which were difficult to remove!
There was no scope of getting upset and wasting time on the day of Holi! The elders would join the celebrations........greeting one another and applying colours on each other' s faces in a polite manner. The civility wouldn't last long as they would also be caught up in the whirlpool of excitement!
The cries of 'Bura na mano holi hai' would fill the air......groups of men would sing bhojpuri holi songs to the beats of dholak.......after having 'Bhang', an intoxicating drink prepared especially for holi. The drink induces a lot of laughter and unsteady gait adding to the fun and frolic around.
By noon, our parents would start calling us for lunch. We would try to ignore their calls and continue playing for some more time. We would form our own toli n attack other tolis to drench them with wet colours. Exhausted but not yet contented, we would return home to find our mother waiting with hot water, she would spend considerable time decolouring us! Thankfully, the colours would last for 2-3 days reminding us of the fun we had. After lunch, we were forced to stay home so we would spend the afternoon watching people playing holi from our balcony.
It was great to watch people with playing like small kids irrespective of their religion, caste, creed or mother tongue. Ofcourse, the youth had their own agenda and I bet a lot of love stories bloomed during Holi. The evenings were usually spent visiting family and friends and playing only with dry colours 'Abeer'.
The ladies brought out the snacks and sweets prepared for the occassion especially Gujhiya! I do remember visiting our teachers who lived nearby to apply abeer on their feet as a mark of respect. They applied on our cheeks with blessings. The sweetness of holi still lingers in my memory............the memory still drenches my heart with the colours of joy, love, fun and frolik which the festival truly represented those days.
The preparation for holi usually started with collecting material for 'Holika dahan'. We children used to roam around to collect dry sticks and branches. As we piled these into a single large heap, the elders would also join us with their contribution....we would imagine the size of the bonafire and feel very happy. After all, we had to give tough competition to other neighbourhoods in the vicinity!
The mythology says that 'Holika', Prahalad's aunt, was asked to sit on a pyre with Prahalad in her lap. Since Holika had the boon that fire couldn't destroy her, it was a sure death for Prahalad. But the fire engulfed Holika leaving Prahalad intact. People celebrate the death of Holika, the demon sister of Hiranyakashipu, by lighting a huge bonafire. The fire engulfs all that is evil on the eve of holi to pave way for the celebration of love and goodness.
After going home, we selected some old, faded dresses to be worn the next day. We kept our colour packets and pichkaris in the balcony. My sister and I found it very difficult to sleep the previous night with so much excitement in the air......we discussed ways of attacking other kids with water colours.
Our day started very early on the day of holi. After a quick breakfast we changed into our old dresses and rushed out with the pichkaaris and packets of colours. We ran to our friends' homes with the intent of surprising them but we in turn were attacked by others spraying water colours on us. Within minutes, all of us turned colourful. The water didn't bother us much because we ran here and there chasing our friends.........screaming and laughing all the way....most of the households kept buckets of water outside so that we kids did not mess the homes.Some older kids especially boys annoyed us with Gobar paani ( Cow dung water) and oil paints which were difficult to remove!
There was no scope of getting upset and wasting time on the day of Holi! The elders would join the celebrations........greeting one another and applying colours on each other' s faces in a polite manner. The civility wouldn't last long as they would also be caught up in the whirlpool of excitement!
By noon, our parents would start calling us for lunch. We would try to ignore their calls and continue playing for some more time. We would form our own toli n attack other tolis to drench them with wet colours. Exhausted but not yet contented, we would return home to find our mother waiting with hot water, she would spend considerable time decolouring us! Thankfully, the colours would last for 2-3 days reminding us of the fun we had. After lunch, we were forced to stay home so we would spend the afternoon watching people playing holi from our balcony.
It was great to watch people with playing like small kids irrespective of their religion, caste, creed or mother tongue. Ofcourse, the youth had their own agenda and I bet a lot of love stories bloomed during Holi. The evenings were usually spent visiting family and friends and playing only with dry colours 'Abeer'.
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