Festival of Holi

Holi is the Festival of Spring, Festival of Color, a time to forgive and forget past issues with people and a great time to get together with friends and family.

Buying needed supplies for Holi

Sunday was the festival of Holi, this is where people will put gulal (colored paste) on people’s foreheads and wish them “Happy Holi”. Of course like any festival, mix a few beers in with the process add buckets of water and it turns into a free for all, reminded me of the Bachelor and Spinster parties in outback Australia. While wearing my newly purchased Kurta and Pajama, the first thing people do is smear gulal on each other’s foreheads and hug, most cases it extends beyond the forehead and into the hair, in my case, my larger forehead. Shortly after the water comes out, buckets, water shooters, water balloons and in some cases even the hose, but that is not enough. Beer is poured over the head usually with some additional adding of gulal and you have this:

The colors of Holi

I still have red and yellow in my skin

We got home in the late afternoon, took showers and scrubbed. Most people use organic types of gulal that should wash out of hair and faces, some people do not. As of Tuesday afternoon I still have red marks on my head and have yellow markings on my face and hands, kind of a jaundice look. I’m afraid someone is going to worry there is something wrong with my liver, sadly it may be more the beer than the gulal.

Later that night we went out to visit one of Hanumant’s parents’ friends, I was a bit embarrassed since I still had color all over my face and arms, but many others did too.

Monday morning we again woke to a great breakfast of chai tea, eggs, toast and orange juice. Then we went sightseeing in Delhi. We used the new Metro service which is excellent. We visited the Red Fort in Old Delhi built in 1600’s.

Red Fort -- sadly it was closed on monday's

In Delhi, people travel by bicycle, car, bus, metro, autorickshaw and pedal rickshaw. It’s amazing watching all the vehcicles on the same road at the same time all blowing their horns. The autorickshaw is amazing, they use to be 2 cycle dirty polluting engines, they have now all been changed to natural gas, but are still death traps.

Waiting for passengers outside Metro

Auto Rickshaw Engine -- "turbo-charged"

Monday night we visited some relatives of Hanumant’s and went to a 50th birthday party of one of Hanumant’s classmates. This was held at the same house and yard as the Holi party. What is amazing is how much different it looked as well as the people. Several people I met the day before I did not recognize without all the color.

The house I’m staying at is wonderful, nice park next door and very large room and comfortable bed located in the Hauz Khas area of Delhi. In the morning we have chai tea as we read the newspaper, then breakfast before we start our day.

In the neighborhood there is structure called Chor Minar, the story has it was used to hang local robbers and place their heads in the holes in the wall.

Chor Minar -- but no hangings today

Bangalore
Tuesday morning we are off to Bangalore, to visit some relatives, more to follow on the next post.

This weekend we plan to go to Kanda Ghat which is up in the mountains near Shimla.

I’m now starting my planning process to go to Leh in the Ladakh area. It’s the wrong time of year so the planning has been interesting. Leh is up in the Indian Himalayan mountains at 11,500 feet and it will be cold.