#8 Holi-Festival
Sometime 10 years ago I wrote down ‘holi festival’ on my bucket list. Little did I know that I would actually be in India!
I didn’t consciously plan my trip around the festival, I just figured wherever I will be will be a good place. It’s celebrated all over India (and beyond) so missing it isn’t really possible.
Knowing big street festivals in Amsterdam and Berlin, I thought myself ‘somewhat’ prepared for the day. I went out in the morning on my own and found - empty streets. The calmness before the storm as I would soon learn.
No 3 hours later and I was covered in colours and water. The streets turned into a disco with waterbombs flying from the rooftops. A feast for the senses, nearly every Indian person I came across smearing coloured powder on my face and hair or simply throwing it at me. Being not too much of a fan of crowds, I soon found myself feeling overwhelmed. It also didn’t help that I was warned in advanced that men would take any opportunity to inappropriately touch you, so I was also on guard with who was close to me. (Ironically, the only man that ended up trying was a priest in a temple).
But still I enjoyed myself as much as possible - knowing that this is probably a one-in-a-lifetime experience. Traditionally, the holi-festival marks the beginning of spring to embrace a time of rebirth and rejuvenation, embracing the positive and letting go of negative energy. So I sung, danced, laughed, threw colours like all the others and embraced this wonderful chaos, finally finding refugee at a quiet spot at the Ganges.
Guided by locals from my Accomodation I managed to find a ‘secret’ way back so I wouldn’t have to go through the crowds again (which was physically nearly impossible). But instead of crowds and colours this pathway was covered with waterbombs-throwing people, so the way back was more of an obstacle race from cover to cover, continuously checking the sky. But this was way more fun than expected! Eventually I got hit by a splash of water which - in the burning heat - was actually quite a relief...
Couple of days after and I still found pink coloured parts all over my body and in my ears and I doubt that my clothes will ever get truly clean again. But I don’t care.
In retrospective I am grateful that I experienced the festival during my time in Rishikesh, where the selling of alcohol (and meat) is forbidden. Sure, you can get booze from out of town, but not having it freely available still affected the overall sphere.
It was a CRAZY party, overload for the senses on all levels and at the same time the knowledge to be part of something very special. Spending 3 hours in this vibrant pot was surely enough for me. A thing to experience once in your lifetime - and maybe this is also enough.
What was a downer to me wasn’t so much all the touchy men, it was more that the colors where actively smeared all over my face (and in my mouth). Some people immediately respected my ‘no’ when walking towards me with raised, colored hands, others just took it as an invitation to go at me with full force.
But hey, when have you have h to e chance to throw around with colored powder?
