Happy     Holi

May the colors of this Holi, bring all the happiness and fulfillment in your homes. May it color your lives, with all that is bright and beautiful. May it bring prosperity and success, but most of all friendship and peace …

Or as the Russians would say ‘Dhushba e Meer’ ….

The ‘Holika’, a ritual of burning all the waste round the house, and the symbolic evil in the surroundings, has been lit in both our residences – Prateeksha and Jalsa. The prayers and the special sweets have been consumed, a bit of the of the ‘gulal’, the powdered color has been put on each forehead and on the feet of the elders and a prayer for a better tomorrow ..

So much has been in nostalgia when we talk of Holi that it would be impossible to narrate it all here. Suffice to say that it has always been one of the most popular and celebrated festivals in the country. It beckons the end of winter and the start of summer, the cutting of the crops and a general gaiety among all, where people beyond caste creed and religion greet and meet each other as brothers and sisters in the most wild celebration.

In Rajasthan, the women that remain mostly in ‘ghungat’ and ‘purdah’ for the entire year come out and have liberty to beat the husbands and men with sticks, without a word or gesture of retaliation from the men … a catharsis !!

The constant beat of the drums and cymbals, the songs, the special sweetmeats – the ‘gujiya’ – shall be cooked and devoured, apart from the traditional drinking of ‘bhang’, a local intoxicant made from a particular weed after it has been ground to a paste ..

The dancing shall be impromptu, and the day shall end late in the evening, after which the cleaning process shall begin and the customary visits to friends and relatives at night ..

A death in a family in the year, shall signal no celebration, to give respect to the departed soul and the streets shall be filled with enterprising revelers, enjoying their freedom to paint any bystander or passerby with multiple colors ..

I shall sit up and watch from a distance the very limited celebration among the family and reminisce the days of yore, of the several momentous Holi celebrations right from childhood till a few years ago.

The abandonment on such an occasion is to be seen to be believed. Its a carnival of color, happiness and joy. It is a day when all social barriers are broken when all are treated as one, the staff and the employers are one, indeed in our house, my Father first put the ‘gulal’ on the member of the staff, the cleaners of the house, embrace and welcome them, before all else. It was a signal that now the celebrations could begin. Such wonderful custom …

After the burning of the ‘Holika’ the evening has been spent in watching a most exciting tv serial – ‘HomeLand’. Just cannot move away from it once it starts. Quite sensational ! Happily there are several episodes to watch and the interest shall remain alive I am certain.

I must to bed now …

Love and greetings again to all ..

Amitabh Bachchan