Holi

This past Thursday, March 8^th, we all had school off to celebrate Holi Day. Holi is an exciting holiday that involves powered paint and chasing one another you attempt to color your friends as much as possible. Before coming to India I had seen movies and pictures of people covered in paint thinking that it looked interesting, but could not completely buy into the idea that this would be worth dying your skin and clothes. Well Holi, like many things in India, definitely exceeded my expectations. We went over our Francis’ (one of the young neighborhood boys) house to celebrate the colorful festivities with our Agartala family. This vibrant blues, purples, reds, and sparkles made for a fantastic time as we smeared colors into each other’s faces.

  

 

It is hard to describe how much fun we had especially due to the fact that we were given Sprite and snacks during the festivities making be feel like a kid again. The removal of the paint was difficult as expected and I still have some glitter and paint on me as I type, but it was well worth it. A lot of the older students that live at the school right next to us had surprisingly never played before so we convinced them the following day to join us for a battle of colors. We ran around the large sports field and drowned ourselves in the colored dust. The sight was spectacle as both the young kids and the high school students raced around the field until all the ammunition was gone.

 

Holi is a day that I actually know little about the true meaning of the holiday so I must admit that I still need to read up on that. I can say that it was definitely one of the funnest days I have had here in India. Its a joyous celebration that even some adults partake in as it brings excitement to lives of everybody involved. It was a rejuvenating day that has re-energized by mind and body. Throwing colors is such a simple thing yet brings more joy to you than you could imagine. I think it is a tradition that America should adopt and I know that 99% of children would agree with me, but I'm sure many parents would push back.