As I sit by my window and look out at the beautiful palm trees, I can hear loud music playing in the building behind our garden. The DJ is playing loud thumping music and playing all holi songs. Holi ke din dil mil jaate hai, maaro bhar bhar pichkari, holi khelat biraj mein, rang barse ..it gets me nostalgic.
When we were growing up there was no DJ. Mom made Gujhiyas, dahi bada, Pulao, got Gheear ( a big thin jalebi, v crisp and syrupy!). I, on the other hand buy it all.We filled water balloons and filled buckets of water and threw them at passersby and derived great sadistic pleasure in wetting Aunties and Uncles. Different tolis would come and we would splash colour ,water and balloons over them. My brother would then join one of the tolis and go visiting . The toli would thus grow bigger and bigger.Later we would be bathed and scrubbed mercilessly by mom with Mitti ka tel ,and then devour all the homemade goodies. I wonder ,if Mom really enjoyed this festival? She had lots of extra work on her platter. Cooking delicacies, scrubbing children,wiping and cleaning the house every 15 minutes, greeting and serving the colourful guests who dropped by.
The holi that we celebrate now. My children play in the garden with pichkari and water pipes.Followed by Rain dance, DJ, Samosa, jalebi, kachori, soft drinks ( All sourced out ) for adults-Beer,breezers, bhhang. We don`t visit anyone neither does any one even dream of coming to our house. (Remember no house help on this day. So no one even wants to look at a visitor ,let alone a dripping colourful one!)We all chip in and meet at any one friends building compound, dance,eat , play a bit and go back. Though all our children are allowed to fill water ballons they are not allowed to throw them at others. Only at their friends below the hips!
And though with times celebrations have changed too,what remains constant is the thrill, joy, happiness we feel during various festivals. So Happy Holi to you all. May this Holi add more colour and brightness to your lives!
Ps..now they are playing ..saat rang mein khel rahi hai dil waalo ki toli re...Rang de gulaal mohe aayi holi aaye re
pic courtsey www.indiacultureblog.com
aaaahhhh that was a nice, all nostalgic post!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhenever I think of the way we celebrated festivals in our youth I feel sad for my children who havent experienced half of it & are never going to...atleast not the way I did. Do u feel like tht???
Wishing U a very Happy Holi!!!!!!
Happy Holi !
ReplyDeleteIn my mom's place , still it is celebrated in the same enthu and with lots of savouries:)
Happy Holi...sorry I didn't wish you earlier...
ReplyDeletethats such a sweet nostalgic post..
ReplyDeletehope u had a good holi..
meko nai pata :(
ReplyDelete//And though with times celebrations have changed too,what remains constant is the thrill, joy, happiness we feel during various festivals
i dunno.. holi isn't the same.. and the same goes for diwali!..
This entire holi week, we had similar discussions at home and what festivals used to be..
It is then when I hope if we could turn back time.. if only for a bit!
you have brought out stark differences in such a simple manner.. hats off!
:)
brought back several childhood memories! here ofcourse, we didnt even get to know :(:(
ReplyDeleteHappy holi to you!
well, for one, the way we played holi in our childhood isnt what the kids of today would like. it would be really boring for them to sit in a car and visit relatives! without any music and rain dance there would be no thrill!and anyway, they havent tasted that 'rawness' so they'll never know what they are missing. as long as it is celebrated in its true spirit i.e. playing holi without any bias and inhibitions, everything is just perfect :)
ReplyDeleteYEAH,nostalgia at its best. I have a memory of celebrating holi at my college hostel , but i somehow didnt have a lot of fascination for the festival.
ReplyDeleteThank you for bringing back the nostalgia of Holi. Far away fom civilisation we in our camp played holi with dried Palash flower mixed with grinded talc stone. There were no sweets but many sweet fruits of Jungle and seekh kabab.
ReplyDeleteWhy arent u writing more often???
ReplyDeleteBusy??????
I came to urge U to post more often & I offer u a Tag to start off;-D
Thanks for the nostalgia rush. Holi seemed better when things were home-made rather than outsourced, but I guess my daughters will similarly feel nostalgic about their outsourced festivities when they grow up.
ReplyDelete