Dhuleti

Day 2 of the festival of Holi!

The day started out like it has every year. Rushing through the morning and coordinating with friends. This year we weren’t just getting together and playing it by the ear.

This time we had a full blown party happening and I was one of the hosts along with Harsh, Viral, Manan and Bunny. We wanted to make sure that all our friends got together at one place, so we could spend the day with all of them and still be together.

Just because we were hosts, we didn’t want to be stuck not having fun, so we decided to have everything professionally taken care of. We had caterers, waiters, a dj, a bar man, the works.

By the time I got to the venue, with some friends in tow, the party was already on. We promptly joined in and in no time I was a pink, blue and yellow.

Now usually every one plays with colored powders that wash of easy. But I do know that a few of my friends have the knack of being sneaky and pulling out colors that hold fast. I was prepared for this, but most weren’t.

Very soon these guys had pulled out their super strong colors. Some of these are metallic looking powders which when wet change color to a brilliant fuchsia or blue or purple. Some colors came out tubes and some powders from little boxes. Suffice to say all these are bound to last more than a few days.

As usual there was a lot of merriment; screaming and shouting, music and dancing, running and chasing and a lot of laughter. The food was yummy and the beverages cold under the hot sun.

Water plays a big part of the day. We would have loved to have a pool that we could all jump into, but that wasn’t possible. The next best thing we could do was set up a complex sprinkler system on the dance floor, creating a so called ‘rain dance’.

I admit I was skeptical about this, but it worked like a dream. We spent hours under the water! Of course this helped rid us of a lot of the color too. What was brilliant was a few of our guests who weren’t playing Holi also got under the showers.

By the time we all got home, none of us remember what was happening around us. I know what an effort it was to have a bath and get the color of me and out of my hair. I had to wash my hair something like 8 times before the water ran clear.

All this was yesterday. Today my whole body is aching and I am still exhausted. But I think the party was a blast. I am so glad we made this day happen, as I am sure are the rest of the hosts of the party!

Holi

The festival of colors is upon us. Today is Holi, a festival of exuberance that marks the end of winter and the advent of spring.

The first day of the festival coincides with the full moon night of Phalguna. In the evening, fires are lit and people walk around the flames with an offering of water and grains as a form of worship.

The story goes that a demon king called Hiranyakasyapu had a son Prahlad, who was a devout follower of Lord Vishnu. This infuriated his father. In spite of many warnings, Prahlad didn’t cease his devotion. The king tried to kill him in many ways and finally called for his sister Holika. She was blessed by the Gods that no fire would hurt her. The king made her take his son on to her lap and sit in a fire. To everyone’s surprise, Holika was burnt and Prahlad remained unscathed.

The burning of Holi commemorates this event and is a symbolization of the triumph of good over evil.

On the second day, that is called ‘Dhuleti’ here in Gujarat; people celebrate by throwing colored powders and water on each other. There is a lot of merriment in the air. Music, dancing and revelry are very much a part of it.

That day is tomorrow. My group (kutumb) and I are hosting a party for about a 100 of our Holi loving friends. It promises to be a wonderful day. Watch this space for more…