Sunday, March 20, 2011

Holi Cow!


Happy Holi! Want to know how we ended up looking like that? Read on...

Snapshots of yesterday: water balloons flying from all directions, buckets of water being dumped on friends and random passersby, colored powder everywhere, sprinting down cobblestone alleys, eating copious amounts of delicious food, an entire extended family dancing to Hindi & Western music, raksi flowing generously...

Do you have a picture in your mind? Okay. That's Holi!


Prior to the Holi festivities, but after being Tika-ed by Aama

Holi is a spring festival celebrated in Nepal, a few other places, and is often called the Festival of Colors. While there are several stories that explain Holi, it is predominantly Hindu, and generally celebrates the coming of spring during the last full moon of the Hindu month Phalguna (late February/early March). While the holiday is based in legends about Krishna, the common perception of the festival is that it's an opportunity to welcome spring, indulge in merrymaking and color-throwing, and just let loose a bit.


Charlotte and Sudeep rocking the X-box. Sudeep even did it with one arm! (The other was healing from a recent shoulder operation)

Swetha and I had the opportunity to spend Holi with my Banepa host family. We took the bus to Banepa in the morning and fortunately managed to dodge early-merrymakers by walking under umbrellas every time we were in the open. I was thrilled to see them again because it's been way too long, and they welcomed us with open arms and buckets of water! When we arrived, we were decked out in the Holi tika by Aama (mother), which consists of red dye placed on the forehead, cheeks and nose. Tikaji, Aama, Swetha and I then walked to the new house - going the roundabout way so to avoid getting wet before lunch. Charlotte (a past Fulbright English Teaching Assistant who lived with the family last year), Sudip (one of my older host brothers), and his wife Sony were at the new house when we arrived. We watched some TV, ate delicious daal bhat and then played X-box (using a webcam that showed our movements on screen) before it was time to head to one of the Ma ma's (maternal uncles) house for the celebration.

The Color War is ON!

Stage 1 - Attack! (Don't worry, it wasn't nearly as violent as it looks!)


Stage 2 - Laugh over the ridiculousness of it after the dye's gone


Stage 3 - Pose for pictures


Our walk across town was adventurous to say the least, but we came prepared with the few things we brought covered in plastic bags! I was plastered by water about 20 feet outside the door from 3 directions, and then continued to get hit by buckets, balloons and water guns filled with both clear and colored water. I was nearly soaked when we reached the house, but was in for quite a bit more from the cousins! I'm not entirely sure how Sudeep, Sony, Aama and Tikaji managed to stay dry... Once at the Ma ma's house Charlotte and I headed up to the battleground on the roof while Swetha took one look and decided to be more intelligent and head downstairs where it was dry! Less than an hour later we were ALL soaked to the skin. Once downstairs, Holi became "eat, drink, and be merry!" with lots of food, drink, posing, chatting and dancing. Well, with the exception of a color war with Swetha... Later, with music blasting, everyone got in on the dancing - uncles, aunts, cousins, and even hajur aama (grandmother)!


Food, Family, Friends, and Raksi! What more do you need?



Oh right. Dancing!


More dancing...


And posing....well, kind of... :)


And...MORE dancing!

We hated to leave, but when the time came, even that was an adventure! Amardeep, Swetha and I walked back to retrieve our things from the other house, and being glaringly white, even under all the color, I was set upon by numerous kids who decided to pelt me with water balloons. As I'd FINALLY gotten dry, that didn't please me, so I took off sprinting through various cobblestone alleys at a speed that would've impressed my college track coaches! Fortunately, after a few hundred meters, chasing me lost its appeal and I was able to stay warm and dry for at least a little bit of Holi!


Aama and Hajur Aama...They were smart and stayed out of the color wars

Beware folks, I'm bringing Holi home to where ever I end up next year!:)

Parting Shot

A few members of my FABULOUS Banepa Family!

1 comment:

  1. Bethany, that looked like so much fun!!! Glad to see you have recovered from your recent almost mis-hap/illnesses and are doing well. Loving reading the blog. Stay safe, and see you state-side soon! Love and hugs from VA.
    :-)
    Suzi Mejia

    ReplyDelete