The month has arrived and Holi is just round the corner. Now everyone feels like they are in the videogame ‘counter strike’ and are always on the lookout for enemies. The kids, probably running from their exams’ studies, have started inflating balloons with coloured water which just won’t wash out. People have stopped wearing white in fear of having to say a goodbye to their outfit forever.
It is one of our major festivals and supposedly full of fun and colour. We have seen it movies so many times (especially during a song!), as the heroine comes and puts colour on hero’s face while he swoons after her. I mean, who doesn’t like a little bhaang with colours and music? Not only do you actually have fun with everyone you care about but you also make aesthetic memories. I mean, colours!
But the sad fact is that this Holi only happens on screen. I think it started with Sholay and is still used mainly for aesthetic purpose. But in real life, let’s just say things are not that aesthetic. Some people start with playing Holi as soon as the month begins and I have heard more than twenty stories already from my friends about how they were ‘attacked’ with water balloons.
It is no more a festival with helps you become stress-free. In fact it has become a source of stress itself. One of my friends shared that she was going for an interview before a balloon had hit her and nicely destroyed her attire. I am pretty sure all of you also have similar stories to share about Holi.
When you think of it, it does not give you sweet memories of playing with your family but just reminds you how brutally people have moulded a beautiful festival into a mere excuse of making the life of others as hell. Instead of first playing with gulaal and then water, people use eggs, grease, permanent colours, sprays and what not. It is no more than a cultural permission to harass anymore. How many times has it happened with you that you were walking the street and in broad daylight someone had hit you with a balloon out of nowhere and you can’t even figure out what hit you? It is not a prank and it is not funny.
My grandma once asked me why I don’t play Holi and why my generation hates it so much and why we are all in screens even on the day of the festival instead of going outside. I just made her watch news and she happily stopped complaining and got into the couch with me as we watched a movie.