Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Holi!

     Holi is the happiest holiday on Earth, and some of the best fun I've ever had!

     The morning began with a wake-up-call from the whole family coming in shouting "Happy Holi!" and attacking us with a bit of colored powder. We quickly jumped out of bed and joined them up on the roof to have our very first color play! Dr. Prabhat got each of us first: swiping a line of pink across each cheek and wishing us a happy Holi.  Then it was a free for all! The twins had water guns that they were all-too-thrilled to soak us with, and colored powders of pink and blue were in small bags to be put on each other. Sushma (my host Mom, if I havent used names before) put some green on top of our heads that dripped down and actually dried a gold color on our faces. We ran around with the boys, throwing buckets of water to combat their merciless water gun attacks. Sushma brought up breakfast for us next that consisted of lightly battered and fried potatoes, onions, and mashed potato sandwiches, and of course chai.

     After the family fun, we quickly got changed into some new clothes and took our taxi to the Holi party.  The party was held in a lovely green garden called Khanna Farms on the outskirts of New Delhi.  A table sat in the middle of the field containing bowls of green, blue, red, orange, and pink powders as well as multiple kinds of water guns. Next to the table were 3 large bins of colored water to refill the guns with (or go jumping in, as we did a few hours later), and sprinklers were set up in various places around the yard. There were only 20 or so people there when we arrived, but we wasted no time in getting the fun started!  We selected our weapons, selected some powders, and didnt stop laughing for hours! Every few minutes we would all look different as new colors were wiped on by both strangers and friends and other colors rinsed off by the water-spray counterattacks. A rainbow haze settled over the crowd, and each new arriving group found themselves colored and sprayed down by those of us already there. I can't even begin to describe how infectious the happiness became! The sun was shining, laughter filled the air, and a smile never left my face! There was a DJ playing a variety of music, and men came around with trays of finger foods and drinks to keep the crowd satisfied until the meal was served. Around 2pm, we made our way to the other end of the yard where a nice buffet of Indian food was spread out to enjoy. Things got a bit more chill after the food, and people tended to migrate into smaller groups in the shade to keep cool. The happy feeling didnt leave though, and we settled into silly conversations enjoying each other's company until it was time to go.






     I left sunburned, exhausted, and completely colored. And even though I am now sick with the cold I was trying so hard to fight off, I would do it again in a heartbeat

Much love,
Alyssa

2 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's great that you had an amazing experience and thanks for decorating it with such a beautiful words :)

    ReplyDelete