"Let the Colors Shower Joy"

Happy Holi everyone!

We celebrated this Indian festival last week with colored dye & music. The office staff went most of the day with colors on our faces & clothing...and we were visited by some men from a local temple that sang some songs for us. Later in the day the youth theatre group performed in a settlement where they had been celebrating holi all day. Everyone was covered in dye & their spirits were high when we arrived to perform the "Birds & Bats" play.

What is Holi?

Well, In some parts of India, specially in Bengal and Orissa, Holi Purnima is also celebrated as the birthday of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (A.D. 1486-1533).

However, the literal meaning of the word 'Holi' is 'burning'. There are various legends to explain the meaning of this word, most prominent of all is the legend associated with demon king Hiranyakashyap.

Hiranyakashyap wanted everybody in his kingdom to worship only him but to his great disappointment, his son, Prahlad became an ardent devotee of Lord Naarayana. Hiaranyakashyap commanded his sister, Holika to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad in her lap. Holika had a boon whereby she could enter fire without any damage on herself. However, she was not aware that the boon worked only when she enters the fire alone. As a result she paid a price for her sinister desires, while Prahlad was saved by the grace of the god for his extreme devotion.

The festival, therefore, celebrates the victory of good over evil and also the triumph of devotion. Legend of Lord Krishna is also associated with play with colors as the Lord started the tradition of play with colours by applying colour on his beloved Radha and other gopis. Gradually, the play gained popularity with the people and became a tradition.There are also a few other legends associated with the festival - like the legend of Shiva and Kaamadeva and those of Ogress Dhundhi and Pootana.

All depict triumph of good over evil - lending a philosophy to the festival. (http://www.holifestival.org/history-of-holi.html)

The colors are meant for pure enjoyment, a celebration of joy and goodness. And of course, my favorite part of most Indian holidays...we got to eat Indian sweets all day long. It's celebrated by Hindus & non-Hindus alike, and a feeling of brotherhood & unity despite religious, socio-economic, and personal differences is celebrated.

I hope to one day celebrate the holiday in India where it originates!

Thandai (A thick beverage consumed during holidays)

Ingredients:

250 gms sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 litre milk

10 almonds, soaked in water and peeled

6 pepper corns

4 cardamoms, crushed

2 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)

1 tsp khus essence (poppy seeds)

Few ice cubes, crushed



Method:Grind well the peeled almonds, cardamom and fennel seeds to a fine paste and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Strain the mixture well. Take crushed ice cubes in a glass till half and fill the rest with the above mixture. Serve garnished with rose petals. Makes for 12 glasses Preparation time: 5-10 minutes