A celebration of vibrancy, spring, fertility and the triumph of good over evil, Holi is revelled by one and all. Srimani Mathukumilli, Telugite and leader, Landmark Worldwide, celebrates Holi with friends.
“It’s that one time where you can let your hair down and enjoy without worrying about what others would think. I will be calling my friends over and we’ll have fun with colours, food and music. We use non-toxic colours so that nobody who comes to celebrate the festival with me gets harmed. I’m planning to treat the guests with Mughlai and Indian cuisine and play a variety of Bollywood and Hollywood songs... whatever gets us all moving!”
The Gujarati community celebrates Holi with great fanfare. For them it is a harvest celebration, marking the end of winter. Bonfires are lit, solemnising the end of evil.
“Holi, for us, is a two-day celebration. On the eve of Holi, we do the holika dahan, where we light a bonfire, and offer wheat, jawaar and sugarcane to it. As any other community, we play with colours on the next day. In the olden days, when there weren’t many colours, people used to play Holi with the ashes of the bonfire. We make gujiya and celebrate with our loved ones,” says Shivani Shroff. Coming from both Sindhi and Jain community makes Holi a double celebration for Madhu Jain, director, Liberty 21.
“I am a Sindhi married to a Jain, so Holi for me is twice as special. The Sindhis celebrate Holi with great pomp. One of my favourite things is the sweet gheeyar, which looks like a jalebi. For the Jain community, it’s all about colour. We perform puja and then holika dahan a day before and on the Holi day. It’s about fun but we make sure it is also safe by using organic colours to protect ourselves and the environment from any kind of damage,” says Madhu.
Savita Reddy, fashion designer, says, “As my father was in the Indian Air Force, I have mostly lived inside Air Force stations, where the fun of celebrating any festival is different.
“I remember going from one friend’s house to the other and then coming to a common place and playing Holi with dry colours as well as with water. So Holi for me is a festival of fun and celebration. Now, we meet up at a friend's place to play Holi, which is then followed by lunch.”
