If you’ve never experienced Holi, it’s hard to imagine what it’s like to participate in India’s over-the-top festival of colour. Mumbai is at the heart of this annual spring event, and we had the good fortune to be there for it this year as the result of Steve’s business travel. Even better, one of Steve’s Indian colleagues and his family invited us to spend Holi with them! Thank goodness, because we had no clue what we were doing.
Note: The credit for most of these photos goes to our host Hiren. Holi tip: If you want to take photos in the midst of the madness, don’t use a commercial smartphone cover, which gets smeared, blocking the lens. Hiren carried his smartphone in a Ziplock bag and took it out to take photos when safe.
What is Holi?
Holi is a celebration of positivity, peace, love and playfulness. It is a symbol of the triumph of good over evil. Although it has its origins as an ancient Hindu religious festival, today Holi is popular with Hindus and non-Hindus alike. Holi takes place the last full moon day of the Hindu lunisolar calendar month and marks the beginning of spring.
Although various regions of India celebrate Holi, Mumbai is party central. There are large, sponsored public parties geared to younger partiers, but there are also local celebrations in every neighbourhood. Young and old celebrate, and wherever you “play Holi” (as locals say) you must bring with you a spirit of goodwill and fun – along with clothing you’re willing to part with after the last water balloon hits you in the back and the only powdered colour that’s left is stuck to your hair, body, and the ground beneath you.
How to Play Holi
Our Holi experience was a family-friendly event in the outdoor pavilion of the condo complex of our hosts – Steve’s colleague Hiren, his wife Swati, and their two daughters, Aditi and Ashwini. We feel very fortunate to have had them as our Holi guides so that we could experience the celebration with seasoned insiders.
One thing that surprised us is that Holi is a primarily a morning celebration. Hiren and Swati shared that their day usually unfolds with playing Holi mid-morning with family and friends followed by a big meal. That naturally leads to napping in the afternoon followed by an early evening stroll.
Preparation
Under the protective wing of our Holi hosts, we changed into the clothes we were willing to trash. To make clean up easier, we rubbed coconut oil over exposed skin and hair, the theory being that it will act as a barrier to the colour.
As we stepped into the hallway to catch the elevator down to the outdoor pavilion, I had a touch of butterflies in my stomach. I’d done some research about what Holi would be like, and hoped we would fit in and manage to keep up.
The Colours
At the core of Holi is colour. Playing Holi involves mixing coloured powder with water to smear, splash, and dump on anyone who comes into your sight. It doesn’t matter if you know the person or not; everyone does it.
Our hosts provided us with these organic, non-toxic Holi colours. In recent years, there has been a public campaign to move away from oil-based powders containing dubious ingredients that are harmful to the environment and difficult to remove from skin and hair.
Water is the other main component of the celebration. In past years, when there have been water shortages, Holi celebrants were encouraged to have a “dry Holi.” This year, following a generous monsoon season, water supplies were not as much an issue. Our Holi party was definitely wet. In addition to celebrants using water guns (sometimes fueled by a water tank backpack!), water balloons are also abundant.
You are never too young to sport a water tank backpack for Holi.
At one point, a fellow with a big bag of green colour smeared my face and hair and I could instantly detect that it was not organic. I could smell the petroleum. Ever the vigilant host, Hiren spotted the incident and turned the hose on me to wash it off before it had the chance to set. At least, I think he was being vigilant. Perhaps he just wanted to drench me. Hmmm …
Other Aspects of Holi
Of course, any good celebration features music. While we got drenched and coloured, a four-piece band played traditional music. Later, a DJ took over and everyone danced.
At our celebration, soft drinks and alcohol were available for purchase as well as thandai (or lassi), which is a milk-based, deliciously spiced drink. Often it is spiked with bhang, which is a derivative of cannabis and is reportedly very potent. Although the consumption of marijuana is not legal in India, the traditional use of bhang (especially on Holi) has government sanction. It comes in a mash-like form in little packets. We tried the thandai, and someone offered to put Bhang in it. Hiren ensured we only got a fraction of it in our cup. Swati took my cup away after a few sips (likely a good idea). Like I said, our hosts had our backs. We switched to beer.
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What Holi is Like for First-Timers
We loved it! It is so much fun to see everyone young and old get into the spirit. Everyone abandons inhibition and plays like kids.
At first, I was reluctant to approach strangers to smear their faces with colour, but after it had happened to me a few times, it was easier to do.
Steve letting the colours fly on top of Swati and Aditi.
Hiren, Ashwini, Steve and Deb ready for our post-Holi showers.
Clean Up!
Despite the coconut oil prep, not all of the colour comes off after the first shower. I was lucky with most of my colour washing down the drain.
Ready to get clean!
Steve’s face, on the other hand, had prominent red colouring that would just not come off. It lasted two days! Suspiciously, Hiren’s hands were the same colour following his shower. We joked he was “caught red-handed” as the culprit.
Looking not bad after our clean up.
We did a little shopping after our Holi lunch at a BBQ restaurant. A sales person spotting Steve’s red face asked him how he enjoyed Holi. Steve’s quick-witted response was to look at him blankly and say, “What’s Holi?”
Steve proudly displaying his red face while having some fun with the accessories at a Mumbai shop.
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This looks like a lot of fun. And just a little bit crazy! I love Steve’s response to the shop clerk.
That is exactly how I’d describe it, Donna. I think Holi gets a lot crazier at the large public events, but this was just crazy enough for me for a first time experience.