Holi, or the festival of colors, marks the coming of spring and is celebrated by throwing powdered colors, dousing each other with water, and lots and lots of alcohol. At least that’s how it was celebrated at the guest house, and the little bit of Jodhpur Rowan and I explored.
As I mentioned Holi celebrates Spring’s arrival (or in my opinion sweltering heat that really should only be associated with the hottest days of summer, but whatever) and I’m sure is linked to some deity, but I’m having a very difficult time in India keeping my gods and festivals straight. Because we had a wedding coming up in the guest house all holi activities had to happen outdoors, and the groom-to-be prepped by slathering coconut oil over any exposed surfaces. Some of us wish he had spread that bit of knowledge as the colors can literally take weeks to wash out!!
Holi is at it’s core a religious festival, but over the years it has turned into something of a massive water-fight. Westerners (especially women, go figure) are encouraged not to get into the fray as things can get kind of rough (one tradition is to rip people’s shirts off, fun!) and I noticed that a lot of the guest houses throw their own version of holi-lite. Our version was pretty fun as many of the grooms friends came over and treated it as a pre-bachelor party, party. Luckily my fellow volunteer Rowan was also of the mind that if your in India, and it’s holi, staying at the guest house is not totally ideal (I think she may also have a stubborn thumb). So during a lull we grabbed our cameras and sneaked into town.
A note on traveling in India. Well really it’s a note on traveling anywhere. People love to share their experiences, and I’ve found that so much of what I do and where I go is based on someone’s opinions whether it’s through a guidebook or in conversation. This advice is extremely helpful, especially when you’re confronted with too many options, where should I stay, where should I eat, do I try and make the 8 hour round-trip train journey in the heat to see the Taj Mahal (I think not). That being said, some of the best experiences I've had was a result of getting lost and making do with the situation I'm in. Granted this has as much to do with my personality as it does with creating your own experiences, but really what I'm trying to say is, I'm glad I didn't listen to the warnings and went into town anyways.
It wasn't that crazy. Yes my shirt ripped. and yes boobs were grabbed at, and if your the type of person that would be really upset about that, then I would say don't go into any cities during Holi while traveling in India. Buuuuuuut if you, like me are wearing a grungy shirt that more likely than not ripped on it's own seeing as how there was a hole in it anyways, and really there just boobs, plus I did tae kwon do and I'd like to see anyone try and mess with me hiiiiiiiiiya, then go for it. Also because, it really wasn't that bad. I got to see for example that women don't really participate, preferring instead to watch from the side (I think this may be because their beautiful saris provide them with enough color to ring in 100 springs), and that seeing as how my friend Rowan and I didn't want to get caught in the middle of the fray many men helped us get around particularly crazy frrenzies. I think the video below is a good example of what to avoid, I especially like the guys on the motorcycle towards the end.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that sometimes people can surprise you, and if you're willing, stepping outside of your comfort zone can reveal some truly incredible experiences. I will conclude this story by saying that on our way home Rowan and I were hounded by many drunken men on motorcycles, and when the situation was getting a bit too hairy we were lucky enough to find a tuk tuk who would take us back to the guest house. Who knows what would have happened if the tuk tuk didn't show up, I'd rather focus on how grateful I am that I did. So it is also good to know your limits and realize that sometimes a situation is more than your capable of handling. I'd like to think that the reason I've had such great luck while being here in India is because, for the most part, I've been pretty good at trusting my gut and either going for it or deciding the Taj has been around for hundreds of years and it won't be too disappointed if I don't go see it this trip....
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