Holi is equated with fun, togetherness, sweets and of course, colours. Bhang, Gujia (sweets) and Gulal (dry colour) rule the festival. It’s popular with the old and the young alike.
Holi knows no barrier of caste, creed and religion. Yet, the revelry is ecstatic among the North Indians of the City.
The festival is an occasion for them to relive their home in all its colours.
Men clad in a spotless white kurta and women usually in a light shaded saree or salwar, all expectant to bask in colours, stir out of their homes with gulal, water guns and piles of mud. Yes, back in the North, Holi is played with mud as well. The same tradition is practised by the North Indians in the City.
A day prior to Holi, married women perform the holika pooja in the evening by offering prasadam, comprising puran-poli, a popular Maharashtrian dish and putting coconut in the fire. The fire is kept burning through the night because it is believed it will ward off evil spirits.
“We play with colours and water sometimes even mud. I enjoy the holika pooja because I find it exciting to keep the fire burning all night. We’ve got to keep adding stuff to keep the fire on,” says Pragathi Shitur, an events executive in the City.
This is the first time that Ankur Jolly, legal counsel and company secretary, Danone India Pvt. Ltd is celebrating Holi away from home.
“Holi means colours of joy, fun and friendship. It’s that time of the year when we rub gulal on each other, eat gujia, have bhang, dance and sing all day and night,” says Ankur and adds, “celebrating Holi will be reviving old memories and recreating them in the City. The spirit will be the same but I will surely miss the large crowd that I have back home.”
Tripti, a marketing executive with an IT firm in the City, says she tries to celebrate Holi just like she would if she were back in her hometown in Delhi. “Here it is quieter. We just rub some gulal tilak on forehead and hang out with friends since it is a holiday for us on Holi.” For Kiran Rao, an engineering student of Ramaiah College the sheer thought of playing with colours thrills him. For Neetu Bansal, an executive with Vibrant Serve, Holi means spending quality time with family and friends.
