I love holi . It is my favorite festival .I love the colours ,the sweets & snacks, the brashness of the festival, the water ballons, the dhol … the sleep that comes with it (this kind of gulal induced sleep happens only once a year) ….and I have the best memories ….
Diwali was always at home and holi at nani’s place in Lucknow … all mamas ,mausis ,their spouses, kids wud collect at nani’s place and ..kids ,elders all alike wud go berserk.. ganging against each other , dunking them in water, putting colours in all possible places…then thr would be eating and then together in toli we would go around the area .. to everyone’s place .. play colours , eat , be happy ..it used to be so much fun , so safe ...
with nanaji ‘s death in 1999 , it kinda stopped … people moved on , some stayed ..i am sure they still celebrate the festival with same zest …I am no longer part of it..
I shifted to Delhi in 1999 and for next 3 yrs celebrated holi at my parent’s or delhi.. my enthusiasm for the festival didn’t deter….i wud still manage to have lot of fun, with family n friends … it wasn’t the same but it was fun, different kind of fun..
so when I celebrated my first holi in Bombay ..I was so homesick (there wasn’t any family here and hardly any friends) , went into a depression of sorts… so hubs decided to have this big party at our house ( yuss, I know he is a sweetheart ,considering he isn’t a very huge fan of holi) ..he invited everyone he knew and asked them to get their friends … he said there is gonna be colours, food and booze ..not necessarily in that order … everyone got very excited abt a celebration like back home ( we are a lonely lot in Bombay) someone offered to make mutton ..some offered to get gujhiya n papads ..we stuck to supplying booze and snacks …this kick started a ritual for every year …
since then holi party starts at 12 pm and goes onto 9 pm …We have at least 50 people dropping in , some stay , some leave. Someone always volunteers to make mutton ….lots of it .. and then thr is booze , lots of it …thr are colours , a lot of eating, singing and dancing ..everyone has great time …
But this year we did not have it .. we decided to get out of the house and check out holi in Bombay …. after 5 yrs , we finally decided to take in the local colours.. so we hired a taxi for the day and went from one friend to another … did have couple of people joinin in as well …
we also became a part of this legendary ( well almost!! ) holi party at our newly made friends…. we met them at Anumita's place , some 10 months back… and the first day we met we were regaled by stories of lot of bhang , malpuas and very good food … so we went there and we were not disappointed … it was good …I had bhang after almost 15 yrs , after my first disastrous tryst … nothing happened this time…
we came back home at 6 pm , very tired but content …holi in Bombay isn’t so bad ..
There was some disappointment with our holi regulars of 4 years …but they wl have to deal with it … even R K Studio took a break once in a while . Yeah!!
So here’s wishing a happier, exciting colour each day, till the next holi …
“One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter.” so i intend to write the words. again . here. with honesty. for myself.
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