What is a real Holi?

Festival of colour, it had been long time since I played Holi, after all it played mostly when we are in schools or colleges. As we grow up the fever of Holi tends to decrease, the reasons being it takes long time to remove colours and chemical colours cause skin irritation. However, the festival is truly enjoyable if played in a proper manner i.e. with natural colours. I have seen many pictures from Rajasthan where many people play it together. Those pictures are awesome and colourful.

I am posting some pictures by Poras Chaudhary.

  

In 2010, I experience my first Holi with natural colours. I really felt like a 5 year old who sees only shade of colours and nothing else. Playing it with young kids was fun. They play it with entire heart – running, dancing, singing and some times putting colour on their own head. It is very difficult to recognize their faces in the herd. Those smile on colourful faces is worth a millions dollar. They shot ‘Holi hai’ all the week. It starts for them with water and balloons one week ahead of the actual day and ends after several weeks.

Morning 7 o‘clock, loud shout outside my house ‘Holi hai’ – ‘aaj to holi hai’. Young kids were shouting and waiting outside my house. I hate Holi mostly because of the chemical colours. However looking at those kids, I was unable to resist myself, thus I went to experience shades of colours. Red, yellow, blue and green, young Picasso, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci painted all my face. I was looking like one of those modern arts that no one can decode. They have thrown several buckets of colour over me. I haven’t played for too long, however it was most enjoyable moment of the year. Holi was on Monday, it has been almost a week but those kids still shout ‘Holi hai’! I mean that is what I call a real Holi.