Why do I Hate Holi?

come March or April and one of India's most colorful festival is celebrated. Ideally, Holi is a time of welcoming Spring into our midst with the Holi Fire on the night before, stories of Pralhad & Holika and her sacrifice, making of colors in the early morn of Dulhendi out of colored leaves and flowers which have been dried by powdering them and the consumption of Thandai and a tad bit of Bhaang as the playing of Holi progress into the noon with singing, games and jokes!

Spring is also a season that drives hormonal urges to the hilt with it being the mating season from birds to flowers to fish and animals and everything natural in between. Can humans stay far behind? And in the Holi that we see today, we find a perfect excuse to exercise our macho demeanour onto others with artificial colors laced with intentions that are neither fully innocent nor completely vile. The festival of family and friends has now digressed into a field day for the desperate and chauvinists, evil pranksters and inconsiderate bums. And the colors of Spring have given way to muddy waters to make permanent the chemical stains on your face and on your self-esteem!

And they carry along this behaviour with them to the workplace where all you hear are screams of girls pleading with men not to color them: all but in vain and laughing men who take the golden opportunity to have their way with colleagues whom they don't even know very well. The lame excuse you hear from one and all of them is that it is a day of colors and they cannot go without celebrating. I believe if you feel so strongly about the festival and the season of spring you would take the day off and celebrate it at home or with family and friends in an apt environment. But I guess it would not be as exciting as seeing the fear and disgust and helplessness in others' eyes while you approach them in their cubicles with an impish grin on your face and Synthetic Gulaal in you hands!

And just when you think it couldn't get any worse, you get hooligans who think to themselves that if the respectable lot can act like this, why can't we take our own liberties? And that is when you get stories of people who have been hit with balloons filled with sewage water, stones, feces and urine. Tell me what color is this that we are giving to our so called 'sabhya' culture?

I had a Hindi Teacher who would celebrate the festival in its purest form with the natural colors and sweets and beverages and hospitality with which we welcome spring. Reminiscing those memories I ponder what was it about that Holi that I loved. Sure it was the natural colors and natural feel of the festival. It was also the warm reception we got as students and guests. But most importantly, it was this space given to everyone to choose if they wished to partake in the festivities. I think the general population would be irked if I went around force feeding Pork Meat and Beef all Vegetarians or Spiking the Drinks of the Teetotalers with Alcohol all with an excuse to get them into the 'Festive Spirit'. And I think this is where the festival transcends the religious beliefs to an opportunity to showcase the values and culture attached to the festival.

I for one hope we all can rediscover the lost values of the festival, give everyone the freedom to choose the time and place to participate and fall in Love with the 'Holi That Was' once again!