The Holi Wonder

“It was Riddhie’s first Holi and all along she kept wondering what was wrong with us people. Luckily though, she wasn’t scared looking at all painted and colored faces around her”.

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March 20, 2011 - it was Riddhie’s first encounter with the festival of colors. It was also his chacha’s first holi after his wedding and hence the celebrations in the house were full on.

The entire family was up earlier than usual and soon after friends and relatives started pouring in and the day which started off like any other turned into a mad party with everyone going crazy playing with colors and throwing water on each other. The festive mood soon caught on and there were buckets of water, color and water balloons flying all over in no time.

We were a little concerned about how our little one shall react to the proceedings, but I guess the training at the weddings came in handy. No one was allowed to come near her with colored or wet hands and it was Riddhie’s grandma who took charge of her. I wouldn’t say that Riddhie was ecstatic about the colors or water flowing around, but she wasn’t fussing about it either. Her expression began from a smile to that of constant wonder. I guess she was probably trying to decipher if we all had lost our wits.

The other important highlights were me emptying an entire party pack of Pepsi on people’s head and the Dhol-wala coming in with the group from the temple that pays a visit every year. There was a usual round of ‘Dandiya’ and some dancing. In the hysteria which followed, somebody did manage to apply some color on Riddhie’s forehead to which she did not really object.

The day ended with some fine home cooked food and everyone getting glued to the India – West Indies Cricket world cup encounter, which India eventually won.

So, I believe the day went fine and though Riddhie did not really grasp what was happening around her, she was happy watching the proceedings from a safe distance. Maybe in years to come she would like the festival for it stands for - joy and resplendence of life, but for now, I guess, her first Holi went down as just another day that she would not really remember in days to come.