myriad of my Holi moments

            

I've been privileged to enjoy Holi both in my hostel & in my colony. Both had different attractions, but the spirit of revelling in the splendour of colours superseded any other emotion !!

                    

Preparations started early, with 'pichkaaris' being bought , not by their glamour, but by their 'range'.  Buying 'bhaang' was a specialised job, designated to 'specific' people! While we looked for the most colourful gulaals, the naughtier folks amongst us went for those dark , nearly indelible stuff that left a long-lasting evidence of your Holi revelry, many days after!

  hostel Holi was mainly a colour war between the girl & boy residents! Courtesy our impeccable aiming, we drubbed the girls handsomely in throwing colour balloons at each other ! Pichkaaris were also a steam-rolling weapon , as girls never quite found out a way to counter our pin-point colour jets! But gulaal smearing brought out the real 'touchy-feely' moments! The average hostel guy, could 'touch' his dream hostel girl's face only on this day, as all  boundaries were transcended ...(even if they didn't communicate for the rest of the year).....! The colour play was followed by a battle for the limited hostel bathrooms, with every available scrubbing agent, from charcoal, ash, kerosene to scotch brite being used to rub the colours! The Holi lunch at hostel was a sumptuous affair, with delicious menu!

                            

However,One of my most memorable Holi memories occurred in our colony! There was a guy , one of my friends, who drank too much of "bhaang", and followed it up with an assortment of mithaais! Well, the next stage i remember is, he was telling me "Titas, I'm dying, call my parents, I'll die soon"! Next moment, he was laughing uncontrollably, without any reasons, and soon after,pails of tear followed! As we stood dumbfounded,all of a sudden, he forgot about his mother-tongue & started speaking in English, with a foreign accent! Colony people ie our neighbours, accumulated around him, stopping their celebrations, to see the comic character! Worse still, he recognised his father among the multitude, and of all possible requirements at that eventful situation, he asked his own Dad, for a Cigarette!!!! Eventually, when a bucketful of water was poured on his head, he felt real good, looked at everybody, and thought he was some kind of a celebrity! His walking off was also grand....he waved at all, thinking they were his fans, while being escorted to his home.

     

My Holi is thus,a myriad of precious moments, mostly hilarious, some fond, while all are equally precious, and remain etched in memory forever!