With winter almost tucked up in the attic, it’s time to come out of our cocoons and enjoy this spring festival. Every year it is celebrated on the day after the full moon in early March and glorifies good harvest.

Holi is now a symbolic tribute to a legend from Hindu Mythology. The story is about an arrogant king who resents his son Prahlada worshipping Lord Vishnu. He attempts to kill his son but fails each time. Finally, the king’s sister Holika who is said to be immune to burning, sits with the boy in a huge fire. However, the prince Prahlada emerges unscathed, while his aunt burns to death. Holi commemorates this event from mythology, and huge bonfires are burnt on the eve of Holi as its symbolic representation.

This exuberant festival is also associated with the immortal love of Krishna-Radha, and hence, Holi is spread over sixteen days in Vrindavan and Mathura – the two cities with which Lord Krishna shared a deep affiliation. It is believed that when Lord Krishna was young, he often whined about his dark complexion and wondered why Radha was so fair. One day, his mother Yashoda playfully suggested that he can smear colour on Radha’s face and change her complexion to any colour he wanted. Fascinated by the idea, Krishna proceeded to do so and thus, introduced the festival of colours. Lord Krishna is believed to have popularized the festival by playing pranks on the gopis.

“It`s once again a time of the year, when you can holler, howl and scream, ‘Holi hai!’ with full social sanction. Holi demands big time planning. Buckets and barrels of strongly coloured water have to be concocted and water balloons filled to greet friends and neighbours. The gala time starts in the morning itself. People go around smearing each other with gulal (coloured powder) and coloured water. Children shoot jets of water from their pichkaris. A lot of people spend the day alternating between getting drenched and coloured, and consuming thandai (a marijuana-based drink) in large quantities as the day progresses. Singing and dancing to the beat of dholaks (drums) completes the picture,” says Sheela Sara, housewife. So get going, fill up your water guns to the brim and go on a wild shooting spree, this Holi.

“Adventures begin when one splashes coloured water, water balloons or simply turn the water pipes on!! My husband generally makes others squirm. So he uses pukka or fast colours mixed in water – or even paint. But it is a fact that this festival is enjoyed the most if there is a large gathering echoing with laughter, gentle pranks and jokes,” says Sheela.

You name the color and it is there. The more multi-coloured or horrible you are to look at, the better you feel. If only the eyes and teeth are visible, it is ideal. Then after we are done with playing colours at home we go house to house. The good thing about going from house to house and greeting neighbours and friends is that you get to eat special flour-based sweets like gujiya and malpua, and other savouries. It does not matter that you don’t really know the person in whose house you are wolfing down so many things.

And then comes Bhang! jai jai shiv shankar…. it’s that time of the year — when lusty voices of holi hai rent the air and bhang flows as high as cloud nine.  Culled from the leaves and buds of cannabis – the very intoxicating bhang helps to escalate the spirit of holi.

Thandai: “The name says it all! Thandai is part and parcel of Holi celebrations. This refreshing and healthy drink is to be served amid the play of colours. In fact, Bhang thandai sets the mood for the festival of colours. Drinking thandai in this season also goes with the weather, as it acts as a coolant for people in North India, where the temperature is usually high at this time,” says Atharva Khanna, a store owner at Gerrard street.

“There are no two ways about it — Bhang has become the official Holi drink. Lip-smacking bhang pakoras and bhang vadas are some popular snacks people look forward to on Holi,” adds Atharva. Sweets and kulfi made of ‘bhang’ known as ‘bhang ki barfi’ and ‘bhang ki kulfi’ are amongst these special preparations.

Colours of the cuisine:

Holi is also celebrated along with several interesting delicacies. Though the traditional recipes vary from family to family and place to place, one thing that remains the same is the zeal with which these delicacies are prepared for this occasion. Sweets are the vital element of Holi celebrations in any part of India. In fact, the festival of Holi is renowned for the umpteen varieties of sweets prepared on the occasion.

There are some universal sweets and dishes that are prepared throughout the length and the breadth in the country on this occasion. “One of the most popular desserts of Holi is ‘Gujhia’, which is a must for every Indian home during the season. Then, there are ‘papris’ and ‘dahi-bhalles’ that are prepared in majority of Indian homes on the occasion.

“The evenings are not as exciting. A good part of what’s left of the day is spent in that special room of the house – the bathroom. Scrubbing and scrubbing, and then scrubbing some more. It is an exercise that is repeated for days as it’s a normal sight to see people with patches of pink skin, green hair, purple hands and silver nails, for days and even weeks after Holi. Even the neighbourhood cows and buffaloes get their share of colourful patches, says Mrinalini, a resident of Brampton.

So let your hair down and do what you like, say what you like, meet, tease and play with colours with the people around you as Generation Next wishes you a colourful splashy Holi.

Author :Ramya Maheshwary