Holi is an Indian celebration of colour that heralds the coming of spring — as well as the end of winter — with a riotous display of vibrant hue. Holi is said to celebrate the moment when Lord Krisha showered the fair-skinned goddess Radha in paint to make her look more like him. Family, friends who are family, and neighbours gather beneath the blazing March sun in beautiful lawns, backyards, driveways, and streets to commemorate centuries (and other legends).
In India, where I grew up, preparation began weeks in advance. Water balloons (no bigger than a small mango) are purchased, powdered colour packets are carefully selected from local markets (and the colours! exploding with shades of pink and calendula tangerine, gaze turquoises and neon green party, curcuma longa yellow and brick reds), and water guns are tested for highest squirt power), and water guns are tested for maximum squirt power.
The morning of Holi arrives, and the balloons are filled to the brim, then carefully tied and kept in an easily accessible garden location or window – all the better to launch a surprise attack on a visiting aunty or an innocent person. Those seemingly innocent bystanders, however, are not so innocent: They, too, have a stockpile of balloons and water guns to cause havoc on whomever they come across.
Color pigments can be applied dry or wet. The cheap, multicolor pigments, which were originally created from turmeric or natural flowers and plants and subsequently became mass-market, may end up colouring someone’s skin for weeks — or forever turning a pure white Pomeranian horribly pink. Thankfully, this changed in the 1990s, when most Holi colours became natural and safe for using once more.
Early in the morning, the family gathers for a hair oil treatment and a generous use of body lotion or moisturizer on any nude body part to avoid the powder from setting in and colouring the skin and scalp. We change into our white cotton suits once we’ve finished getting ready. On Holi, everyone dresses in white. Partly because it’s hot in India, and partly because it’s a great opportunity to see how many different colours your visitors have seen by the time they arrive at your house.
Early in the morning, the family gathers for a hair oil treatment and a generous use of body lotion or moisturizer on any nude body part to avoid the powder from setting in and colouring the skin and scalp. We change into our white cotton suits once we’ve finished getting ready. On Holi, everyone dresses in white. Partly because it’s hot in India, and partly because it’s a great opportunity to see how many different colours your visitors have seen by the time they arrive at your house.
Everyone is either singing, intoxicated, stoned, or simply sick of the heat and being splattered with colour before you realise it. People will return in their homes by the end of the afternoon, scrubbing the colour off and relaxing from the day. The cities become peaceful, and we all snooze our way into another spring. Indeed, a really happy Holi.
