This past weekend was Holi weekend! Holi is a spring festival that falls on a full moon weekend. It involves bonfires at night and a very colorful day. By very colorful, I mean that people throw colorful powders, pastes, and colorful water on one another.
Earlier this month, we took Benjamin to a kids Holi festival - he was a bit afraid of all the craziness. So, I was wondering how we could observe this event without exposing Benjamin to it. Then, I started reading and hearing about the toxins that are in these color powders, pastes, and water. So, I started wondering, how do we observe this without any of us participating. Dominic agreed to drive us around to see the people "playing holi" from the safety of our enclosed vehicle.
First, we attended the Holi party at our hotel on Friday night. This "calm" festival was good for us, until the entertainment started. The stage dancing was wonderful, but unfortunately the Indian's like their music loud...I mean LOUD. We watched a bit of the show and then made our way to the quieter buffet area. This was fine, since it was already past Benjamin's bedtime. We were some of the only westerners that attended...and therefore some of the only ones without traditional Indian outfits. So, I've decided I need to shop for one soon.
Saturday night was the bonfire night. We didn't go out to see one, but we could determine from seeing & smelling the smokey air that passed our hotel that these must be LARGE!
Sunday is the color day! People buy colored powders & pastes to spread on anyone they see. People also create colored water and use a simple plasitc device that is basically a simplified water gun. It operates like a syringe...stick it in the water, pull back on the plunger and the barrel of the syringe fills up...then push the plunger in to squirt!!
Unfortunately, we didn't realize that the colorful part of the day was in the morning...and we didn't call Dominic until later in the afternoon. We still drove around and saw some of the lingering crowd on the streets, but no active "playing holi" going on. On our way home, we stopped by a restaurant for carry-out. While Benjamin & I were standing out front a guy walked up and asked if he could put color on Benjamin. I told him he could put it on his shirt arm. Benjamin liked it. The guy also put some on Rene...so, we did get to "play holi"...a very calm version.
Earlier this month, we took Benjamin to a kids Holi festival - he was a bit afraid of all the craziness. So, I was wondering how we could observe this event without exposing Benjamin to it. Then, I started reading and hearing about the toxins that are in these color powders, pastes, and water. So, I started wondering, how do we observe this without any of us participating. Dominic agreed to drive us around to see the people "playing holi" from the safety of our enclosed vehicle.
First, we attended the Holi party at our hotel on Friday night. This "calm" festival was good for us, until the entertainment started. The stage dancing was wonderful, but unfortunately the Indian's like their music loud...I mean LOUD. We watched a bit of the show and then made our way to the quieter buffet area. This was fine, since it was already past Benjamin's bedtime. We were some of the only westerners that attended...and therefore some of the only ones without traditional Indian outfits. So, I've decided I need to shop for one soon.
Saturday night was the bonfire night. We didn't go out to see one, but we could determine from seeing & smelling the smokey air that passed our hotel that these must be LARGE!
Sunday is the color day! People buy colored powders & pastes to spread on anyone they see. People also create colored water and use a simple plasitc device that is basically a simplified water gun. It operates like a syringe...stick it in the water, pull back on the plunger and the barrel of the syringe fills up...then push the plunger in to squirt!!
Unfortunately, we didn't realize that the colorful part of the day was in the morning...and we didn't call Dominic until later in the afternoon. We still drove around and saw some of the lingering crowd on the streets, but no active "playing holi" going on. On our way home, we stopped by a restaurant for carry-out. While Benjamin & I were standing out front a guy walked up and asked if he could put color on Benjamin. I told him he could put it on his shirt arm. Benjamin liked it. The guy also put some on Rene...so, we did get to "play holi"...a very calm version.
Great pictures. I really like the one of the three of you wearing your colors. Hope you are making a photo album of your visits to India
ReplyDeleteLeigh
ReplyDeleteYou need to watch the show Outsourced on nbc (it's available on nbc.com).
It's about a callin center in india. I saw that 2-3 weeks ago they had this color paint fight.
Might be cool for you to watch this show
Benoit
How fun and what a shock that would be if you didn't have a warning! I love seeing the pictures of the locals too! You all look beautiful :)
ReplyDelete