Holi is the festival of colours which is celebrated mostly in the northern parts of India, and the other parts of the world. It's a festival of love and warmth and is addressed as the "festival of colours". It comes, just, after the month of Basant, in Phalguni month. Basant is the month of Spring as per the Hindu Calendar, when flowers blooms spreading its fragrance in the air making it a best anecdotes for love and romance; and the whole atmosphere becomes full of passion and fervor. Thus, as believed, this marks the passion of love for Lord Krishna by Radha Rani. In Barsana, ( a town in Uttarpradesh )which is also the birth place of Radha Rani, an entire month, is dedicated (spent) to Holi celebration and is celebrated, honouring Radha Rani and Lord Krishna's pure love for eachother. The atmosphere being coloured thus, becomes beautiful like a rainbow.
All said, I would now, take you all down my memory lane where I was just a little girl of 13yrs.
I am talking about the era of 70s-80s.
As I had mentioned many times in my earlier posts about my house and it's surroundings, and about the main Market place, I would be focusing on it, and telling you all about it.
Due to the Holi festival the Market was crowded with hustle bustle and noise all around. The shops were adorned with colourful packets of colours, and "PICHKARI" ( it is a pump to fill coloured water to spray on each other as an ordeal of playing Holi). The other method of spraying coloured water is by filling balloons either with plain water or coloured water. People with little children would flock the market place to buy colours, pichkari and balloons. I loved to watch all this from my balcony.
On the day of Holi the streets would be full of "Maston ki toli " means group of people singing and dancing and throwing colours on eachother they will be just roaming around with dholak baja, and bhajiya. And to sooth themselves, as well as their throats, they will be having thandai( Thandai is a sweetened milk made with almond and melon seeds paste,,). But, during Holi to make the festival more funny and humourous they add an addictive called "Bhang" It's learnt that this Bhang is such an addictive that if you laugh while sipping it down you will keep on laughing and if you're crying then you will cry your heart out. So mostly people being in festive mood just to play pranks, would be adding this in drink and passing on to each other, all would be dancing and swaying in addiction, unknown of the actual situation and their surroundings.
Now coming to my story, as penned down in my earlier posts, it's was, those, time when my home was filled with many people mostly my cousins all pranksters. The building opposite to ours were families with children who were mostly boys and all hardcore pranksters waiting for an opportunity to play pranks. The building was taller than ours, and thus their aim in throwing colours on us was very much easier and their sole intentions was to hurt us. Our terrace too would be filled with boys ( my cousins, and the only exception we three sis) no one could be recognised with the coloured faces and they all looked like jokers or zombies. We used to laugh our heart out throwing colours, singing laughing loudly and playing Holi in a joyful way. But the people on the opposite building was creating nuisance by aiming us, and throwing balloons, filled with water. It's was really hurting. They were just enjoying our embarassment.
The flaw of this festival is that people with coloured faces unable to be recognised takes undue advantage of everything, eve teasing, and bullying, girls, if ,they are out, on the roads or at market places. They, then becomes, a true victim, to these assaults. So girls often do not go out to avoid the mishappenings. There is a saying too which is most popular and is commonly used by these road Romeos.(The sadak Chaps) ,"BURA NA MANO HOLI HAI" which means "please do not mind it's HOLI" . Taking this shield they harass girls. The same was happening with us from the other parties, on the terrace of the opposite building. Now my cousin brothers were fury with anger and they were in a mood to fight it though. First they started flying the balloons filled with water with good aims. It was hitting them but they started ducking now. Since the building was in height, their hideouts couldn't be seen.
My brothers were planning what to do next how to aim them properly, wherein my Amma (mother) came to us with eatables. She had bought a plate full of ripened jackfruit. We washed our hands and started hogging. Just at that moment seeing our silence, heads from the opposite building started popping out and lo! My cousin brothers got a lot of jackfruit peels and aiming a good aim they started throwing the peels just like gun shots. They threw the hard skin of jackfruit on to their faces and what a good aim. Their faces were smeared with jackfruit pulp. And here my brothers started shouting " BURA NA MANO HOLI HAI" we too joined in making funny faces, what a "Holi" it was, how well we all played till afternoon in the festival mood.
My cousin brothers now decided to go to their office colleagues place for celebrations and masti. And guess what happened....
Most of them returned laughing and mostly crying ......
"BHANG KA NASHA CHAD CHUKA THA"
The "BHANG" had played it's tricks. ......
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
"HOLI HAI "
Pic courtesy: Google Images
Pic courtesy : Kasturi restaurant Kolkata
