Last weekend I went for a Holi festival in Massachusetts with my friends. Yes, I traveled to a different state just so I could play with colors and celebrate with people I just met! Why you ask? Because it had been five years since I last celebrated Holi. Because it is one of my favorite festivals and one which I look forward to every year (it would be second on my list after Durga Puja). Because I love the colors, the music, the feeling of letting go (and no, I'm not referring to the Bhaang high) - it just seems like such a happy celebration to me.
Before telling you about my trip, here is a little background about the festival of Holi also known as the Festival of Colors. Holi derives its name from Holika, the evil sister of the demon king Hiranyakashipu. The legend goes that Hiranyakashipu wanted to kill his own son Prahlada for refusing to worship him and instead choosing to worship Lord Vishnu. After failing in his attempts, Holika tricked Prahlada to sit with her on a pyre while she wore a cloak which made her immune to the fire. But as fate would have it, the cloak flew off and Holika was burned while Prahlada survived thus celebrating the victory of good over evil. The traditional Holi festival is a two-day festival with a bonfire signifying the burning of Holika on the first day and the playing with colors on the second. In the original festival, people applied the ashes of the pyre to their foreheads which was gradually replaced by colors (thankfully)!
Back to my awesome Holiday... it was an event organized by an Indian restaurant which included a covered area to play in, some colors, loud Bollywood music and a scrumptious Indian buffet. I took a train down from Stamford to Keya's house in Groton on Friday evening. I was a bit apprehensive because it was supposed to be a large group of people whom I was meeting for the first time (and mostly because I'm not good at making new friends). But as soon as I met Keya's room-mates, I knew it would be a great trip. They were extremely friendly and hospitable to me and I was soon feeling relaxed and buoyed up for the event next morning. We spent the rest of the evening cooking chicken and chatting... till it was time to rest for tomorrow would be a long day!
The next morning we woke early and started to get ready to start for Framingham. There are a few to-dos for celebrating Holi. Here they are in no particular order:
Anyways, it was a two hour drive with beautiful sunny weather (being inside the car gave us respite from the chilly wind). We reached the event location and soon spotted many Indians gathered (most already covered with color) near a white tent with music blaring... real Bollywood music after ages. After waiting for the whole group to assemble, we were finally inside! Once inside, I soon forgot that I was with new friends and was soon dancing madly to the dance numbers being belted out. That's what Holi does to you! Almost instantly everyone was unrecognizable, all inhibitions were out of the window and the air was thick with colorful powder. It was raining colors and I was happy to be under it! I honestly don't know how long we danced but we suddenly found ourselves starving and wandering towards the laden buffet table. I guess all the dancing made us hungry and soon we were happily gorging on Indian dishes... chicken butter masala, chicken tikka, paneer... and not to mention gulab jamuns!
After a round of eating, it was back to having fun with colors and music. Slowly the party started winding down and finally it was time to go back. Thankfully we had thought of bringing plastic sheets to cover the car seat and covered with colors, we started our journey back. It had been an awesome fun-filled day and it was time for long baths and washing off colors... but nothing would wash away the memories of a raucous, happy day of celebrating a festival miles away from home. Till the next time... Happy Holi!!
Before telling you about my trip, here is a little background about the festival of Holi also known as the Festival of Colors. Holi derives its name from Holika, the evil sister of the demon king Hiranyakashipu. The legend goes that Hiranyakashipu wanted to kill his own son Prahlada for refusing to worship him and instead choosing to worship Lord Vishnu. After failing in his attempts, Holika tricked Prahlada to sit with her on a pyre while she wore a cloak which made her immune to the fire. But as fate would have it, the cloak flew off and Holika was burned while Prahlada survived thus celebrating the victory of good over evil. The traditional Holi festival is a two-day festival with a bonfire signifying the burning of Holika on the first day and the playing with colors on the second. In the original festival, people applied the ashes of the pyre to their foreheads which was gradually replaced by colors (thankfully)!
Back to my awesome Holiday... it was an event organized by an Indian restaurant which included a covered area to play in, some colors, loud Bollywood music and a scrumptious Indian buffet. I took a train down from Stamford to Keya's house in Groton on Friday evening. I was a bit apprehensive because it was supposed to be a large group of people whom I was meeting for the first time (and mostly because I'm not good at making new friends). But as soon as I met Keya's room-mates, I knew it would be a great trip. They were extremely friendly and hospitable to me and I was soon feeling relaxed and buoyed up for the event next morning. We spent the rest of the evening cooking chicken and chatting... till it was time to rest for tomorrow would be a long day!
The next morning we woke early and started to get ready to start for Framingham. There are a few to-dos for celebrating Holi. Here they are in no particular order:
- You should wear your oldest and brightest clothes. When we were kids, we would wear dresses that were one wash away from being thrown out. Its only in movies that actors wear pristine white clothes and then mess them up beautifully... that's just for artistic effect.
- For ladies, it is advisable to tie up your hair to minimize damage. Again, don't be inspired by the heroine with her swinging tresses... She has a personal hairdresser, you don't.
- Its not cool to throw color at the eyes. For a person wearing contacts for years, its always a challenge to escape the over-enthusiastic revelers.
- "Bura na mano Holi hai" literally means that anything goes and you're not allowed to be a complaining sissy about it. Holi is not for the faint of heart.
Anyways, it was a two hour drive with beautiful sunny weather (being inside the car gave us respite from the chilly wind). We reached the event location and soon spotted many Indians gathered (most already covered with color) near a white tent with music blaring... real Bollywood music after ages. After waiting for the whole group to assemble, we were finally inside! Once inside, I soon forgot that I was with new friends and was soon dancing madly to the dance numbers being belted out. That's what Holi does to you! Almost instantly everyone was unrecognizable, all inhibitions were out of the window and the air was thick with colorful powder. It was raining colors and I was happy to be under it! I honestly don't know how long we danced but we suddenly found ourselves starving and wandering towards the laden buffet table. I guess all the dancing made us hungry and soon we were happily gorging on Indian dishes... chicken butter masala, chicken tikka, paneer... and not to mention gulab jamuns!
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| Holi selfie! |
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| A happy color-covered group |
Really great Holi memory after ages!!! 😘
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