Happy Holi

[skb]

Happy Holi to DP members.

Today, India celebrates the festival of colours, known as Holi. Those who play, spray each other with colours (dry & wet), drink bhaang (milk mixed with cannabis), sing and dance. In short, mayhem ! It is a day to forget and forgive, and rekindle the friendships of the past. It also signals the arrival of summer. It is one of our major festivals and therefore a public holiday.
We haven't played Holi since we were teenagers. The festival has become nastier with all sorts of chemicals being used as colours. There seems to be a license to misbehave. So we stay put at home, have friends come over, watch movies or whatever.   

[Shanny]

What a shame that a happy harmless holiday would disintegrate into a dangerous excuse to act up and act out. I hope your private celebrations will be enjoyed by all. Happy Holi!   

[skb]

It's that day again.
Happy Holi to all DP members.

[Shanny]

And to you, my friend.

[walkerwally1]

Hope it is a happy and safe celebration !

[bigskygal]

Hope it is a great day of celebration!  I love hearing about all the different celebrations in India.  When I was in India in Sept of 2000, there were celebrations with parades that were really wonderful.

[skb]

We don't like the chemical colours that are used these days, so we stay put at home. Anyways the revelry is for the children.

Barbara, I cannot think of any festival in September with parades. Maybe it was the 15th of August which is the Indian Independence Day.

[rocky]

skb, wish you and family a very Happy Holi.

[bigskygal]

It  was a long time ago.  I was there from mid Sept to mid Oct. Maybe it was a local celebration, I don't remember.  They had a goddess on a stand that they were carrying through the town on their shoulders. For some reason Durga comes to my mind..

It was a pilgrimage.  We started in New Delhi, spent a week in Nainital at the Balrampur Palace, then on to Jaipur, Agra, Varanasi, Bhubbaneshwar, Bangalore, Mysore, and then back to Dehli.  We visited several ashrams, stayed at Puttaparthi and saw Shri Sai Baba. I had to go dig out my itinerary to remember all the places.  Of course we saw all the sights in all those cities!

[skb]

Ah yes. Durga Pooja in mid October would be possible. Banaras & Bhubaneshwar could be the places where large processions are taken out.
You seem to have covered quite a lot of places in the short time. If there is ever a next time, do include Mumbai (Bombay) in the itinerary, and this goes for each and everyone at The Diabetic Pub.

One of our members here (Sanjeeb Patra) who was also on the old forum was in Mumbai early this month. We set up a tentative time to meet, but for some reason we couldn't. However, I would love to meet up with each and everyone of you. And we are very good hosts, I think. So, think about it.

[rocky]

That's very kind of you skb. I will surely make it a point to look you up if I travel to India.

[Shanny]

And likewise, Shyam, if/when you ever come Stateside, give us a hollar!