Happy Holi……

It was a nice sunny day… had just opened my eyes after 8 hours of sleep…wore my sleepers…started towards the balcony…was trying to find someone in the traffic on the road in front of our house…saw a few boys…drenched in colors…ohh...it was holi…I cried…with all the strength I had….”Holi Hai” …the boys looked up…didn’t speak for a few seconds …then the reply came from all of them…”Holi Hai”…we cooked the breakfast…and within an hour we were ready for the celebrations.

Shyamal’s House:
Our first “Shikaar” was Shyamal....we made sure that he was colored properly … and after some time he was also a “Shikaari”…like we were

Yogesh’s house:
Ding Dong…. Ding Dong…. Ding Dong….”Yogesh is not home”…some body passed the information from inside without opening the door…but we forced him to come out…it was his room mate…We went into the house to check if Yogesh wasn’t really there…perhaps he was not there… (we didn’t check the bathroom)…”Ab aaye the to kisi ko to rangana tha hi…”…So, it was Yogesh’s roommate who had to bear the brunt…

Jain’s House:
Jain saab was not ready to play holi…but finally he agreed for a “teeka”…the “teeka” covered him thoroughly…then he said..,”Ab...Hum bhi kisi ko nahi chaorenge…” .

Makkhan’s House:
All of us were drenched in the colors completely….and then the song …”XL ki Kudian”…acted as a catalyst for our enthusiasm reaction…We were motivated enough to color the whole Bangalore…We fell short of color at the makkhan’s place…So, Deba called up his family provision store and asked for colors,”Rang hai”
The “Family”shopkeeper replied,”Haan hai”
Deba: Laal rang hai..
Family Shopkeeper: haan hai..
Deba: Hara rang hai…
Family Shopkeeper: haan hai..
Deba: Gulal hai
Family Shopkeeper: Ye kaun sa rang hai..
Deba: aap kis tarah ke rang ki baat kar rahe the..
Family Shopkeeper: Chicken ke rang ki…
Deba: Holi ka rang nahi hai..
Family Shopkeeper: Nahi..
Deba: to phone rakh de turant….

Now, we started for Koramangla……

Koramangala:
We visited so many places in Koramangla that it is difficult to write down about everything….Chilled ”Thandai” was waiting for us at Teekay’s…it was delicious…we went to Chinmay’s place…The “mahaul” around chinmay’s house was awesome….will not get into the details of it…some of us were thirsty by this time…and they wanted beer…



Beer shop:
Suddenly an auto stopped in front of the shop. Three ladies, all above 65, stepped down the auto…ask the shopkeeper for three chilled beers…and GATA GAT…all of us were standing there agape with wonder….Actually, the event happened in my virtual world…In the real world, the three ladies stepped down and walked away….They were too old to continue drinking….

We had to meet some more people in NGV….Went to NGV…we were very tired by the time we finished in NGV...So, it was the time to leave…

We celebrated Holi with all the vigor and enthusiasm…But, I am still missing the “Gujhiya”…”Bhai logon…jo bhi ghar se aa raha ho…Gujhiya jaroor lete aana”….And in the end a few lines I just want to write…

“ek baras mein ek baar hee jagti holi kee jwaala
ek baar hee lagti baaji jalti deepon kee maala
duniya waalon kintu kisi din aa madiraalay mein dekho
din mein holi raat diwaali roz manaati madhushaala“..

---Harivansha Rai Bacchan