Contrary to all this bruhaha about conserving Indian values, culture etc by writing off Western influences, our own indigenous Holi is an intensely sensuous festival. You have men and women splashing colours, getting drenched with water to the bone whilst sporting stark white and drinking bhaang, a mixture of milk and marijuana, that can make you quite heady. And hey, it’s not the upper class alone who indulge in such shenanigans. You have people from the middle classes right down to the lower stratas who for a day, sometimes more, play the fool with colour, water and bhaag.
Yesterday, I attended a Holi party, a filmy-do, courtesy my new journalist roommate, who does the Page-3 circuit off and on. It was at a 5 star hotel in the suburbs. I went more out of curiosity than anything else. Bumped into a couple of friends and ex-colleagues who resembled ogres and goblins under splashes of majenta, red, blue and green. There was a rain dance in progession.
I was dressed in an immaculate salwar kameez, and was a little hesitant about messing it up. But I friend dragged me onto the dance floor and I had a whale of a time messing around with a hose pipe, Holi colours and gyrating to remixes of Rang Barse and the rustic beats of the Dol.
Actress Pooja Bedi looked her usual fiesty self in what I thought was a green sari. It was actually white and had turned green with colour.
I also noticed lots of caucasian women dancing with gay abandon. At first I thought they were guests, but strangely all of them wore similar looking skirts with a symmetrical edges. Then I realised they had all been hired as ‘props’. They were supposed to dance and spray bhaang into your mouth using these little sprayers which resembled aeroplanes. Bet they are getting payed a fat packet to have a good time. Not a bad way to make some pocket money.
The food was most forgettable. But we got nice luxurious headed massages sponsored by some oil brand. That was relaxing to the hilt.
I received a phone call and couldn’t hear a thing. So, I retreated into a corner. While chatting, I peered over the wall and suddenly saw the beach. There were tons of people trying to peep over the wall and catch a glimpse of the action on this side.
They were also muddied with colour, were splashing about among the waves. Not too sure what that signifies enviromentally, but they looked blissful. Could be the bhaag or the waves.
