It's Spring! And leave it to India to usher in this season of rebirth and regeneration not with dainty pastels, but shades of fire, hot yet also jewel-like, brazen, yet with a depth and an indescribable refinement that create both awe and delight within my Western eye. India welcomes spring with the Holi Festival.The site holifestival.org describes the festival: "Holi is celebrated with enthusiasm and gaiety on the full moon day in the month of Phalgun which is March per the Gregorian calendar. Holi marks the end of winter gloom and rejoices in the bloom of spring time."
One of the great joys of Holi is the Festival of Colors: "Days before Holi, the markets become flooded with colours. It is a joyous sight to see huge piles of bright red, magenta, pink, green and blue everywhere on the streets. Buying those colours seems as though you are bringing joys into your life.
"These days it is easy to buy colours from the market but still some people take up the task of making colours at home, usually from flowers of tesu and palash. These homemade colours have a special fragrance of love in them. The other option is to buy gulal which comes in shades of pink, magenta, red, yellow and green. Abeer is made of small crystals or paper-like chips of mica. This is mixed with the gulal for a rich shine. Mischievous ones, however, go for silver and gold paints on which no colour could be applied.
"Whatever be the choice of colour, nobody remains in their original shade or texture at the end of the play. And everybody takes delight looking at the other. Really, the other name of the festival is FUN. "
May your spring time be filled with the fragrance of love, the warmth of deep color, and the joy of being alive.
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Talk to you later,
C.