This week marked the Holi celebration in India, which, officially was on Wednesday, March 11th and celebrates the ushering in of spring time. Really though, it is an excuse to have a holiday/day off and throw “color” (AKA powder paint) all over one another.
We played Holi at school on Monday March 9th with the kids. Needless to say, in the matter of less than 30 minutes, I was covered with paint, I had lost my pendant I had bought in Udaipur, and my shirt was partially ruined, and I hadn’t had so much good, colorful fun in a long time!
(I swear that baby wasn’t really THAT distressed because of me, but interpret this as you may)I’ll let the other photos speak for themselves:
Two days later, I went to my friend Chirag’s Holi party at his apartment complex around 10 a.m. I took a Rik there, and found out to my surprise that you really do need to watch out on Holi, as I was hit with spot-on accuracy in the face by a water balloon by some kids while I was riding in the Rik.When I reached the party, the neighbors were already in full swing.
I was thrown right into the Holi mix, and it surprisingly had a lot more method to the madness then I had first suspected. We did one color at a time, and had a chance to rinse off--briefly--with hoses in the apartment complex courtyard right before the next color packet was opened. At one point, I narrowly missed getting (inadvertently, I think) hit in the face with a balloon full of purple paint, as it hit the wall I was leaning against and slid down my back and butt (I washing that color off for the next few days).I had been advised to attend a Holi party with people I know, as sometimes the celebrations can get out of hand, and I had a blast and am very grateful to Chirag and his friends and neighbors for letting me crash their party. The younger girls there, around 12 years old, could not believe that in America, kids really move out of their parents’ house at age 18 and curiously inquired all about this and if I “really moved out of my parents‘s house then?!” (it is common here to stay living with your parents, possibly until marriage, since real estate is so expensive in Mumbai). After the color-throwing, we even had infamous Mumbai street food --which look like little veggie burgers. Delicious!
To give you a bit more context of the colorful day (it lasted until around 2:30 p.m.), here is a before pic as I left Sunitha‘s:
And here is the after pic, I am still very colorful even after a 20 minute outdoor shower courtesy of a large hose the guys hung from an apartment balcony and a big tree, where I repeatedly washed my hair. (Note that almost a month later, I still have free red highlights because the color has taken a liking to my locks).
A few more colorful pics for your enjoyment:
Chirag and I at the start of the Holi party
Group pic of us in the mix at the Holi Party.