Holi: tradition and fun

Happy Holi to all my readers…..

     Playing Holi in my ancestral village is always fun for me. On Holi I try to be there to become a part of the fun. Holi here is always a decent affair. Those habituated with mud, cow dung or any other thing in that series will sure be disappointed here. Abeer-gulaal, that’s all. This is a big village in the foothill, roughly divided in three parts. A ‘toli’ of men would start from one end of the village, which would accompany the other one from the middle part to join with the third one at the farthest end (our side of village) and I was in third one, as usual. Each toli had its on ‘dhap’(ढप) or ‘chung’(चंग) it’s a big dafli (डफली) like rhythmic instrument like u see in almost all holi songs of Bollywood movies. Every one singing songs called dhamaals (धमाल). Dhamaals are sung by only males. Themes would be around Holi, bhajans of lord Rama and Krishna, mythological stories and some times folk. The lyrics would be Rajasthani and Brij.

      Like:- रंग मत डाले रे कान्हूडा म्हारो गुजर मारे रे (A Gujjari imploring Lord Krishna not to smear her with the colour as her husband would beat her)

      Another colour:- आज बृज में होरी रे रसिया (Today is Holi in Brij, Krishna’s birth place)

      And: - सागे चालो रे भौजाई मेलो देखां गौर को (A dever (brother-in-law) teasing his Bhabhi and inviting her to visit with him Gangaur fair (A festival exclusively celebrated by women in Rajasthan and parts of Haryana and U.P.)

      My cousin plays very good dhap and sings good dhamaal. He would always lead from front. All three tolis went together to a Temple of Dadu panth at the farthest end of village and from there together to another temple at the other end. Singing and making the sky colourful. Women were standing on top of their houses. Their style varied. Those of Rajputs had only their eyes visible from inside their ghunghats (Purdah or veil) they were in groups, women of Baniyas and Brahmins had their heads covered. Others were seemed free to adopt either style. Girls were watching the fun shyly. Abeer-gulaal was flying in air. Younger ones were pouring their regards to elders’ feet in the form of abeer-gulaal, elders were reciprocating by pouring their love, in the heads of younger ones, same way. I am finding, each year, my feet becoming more and more colourful.