Holi

This weekend the colors flew in Mumbai. The
celebrations were for Holi - one of the biggest
festivals after Diwali. On Friday night the
bonfires burned and today the streets turned pink,
red, blue, green, and all colors of the rainbow
as the festival of colors raged. This is one time
of the year when inhibitions are lowered and people
let their hair down. Vendors sell little packets
of powdered paint, liquor stores open up for a
busy day, and every little corner shop sells
water guns. Everywhere you turn you see someone
covered in paint and throwing the next handful at
someone else. Boys and girls run around screaming
as they spray each other with water from plastic
guns, rickshaws speed by as water balloons fly out
the doors for a well-aimed splatter. You can't
help but laugh and smile as everyone enjoys the
day.

In the early morning only the most eager are out
pelting each other with paint. By mid-day the
students and young adults are out, kids are
squealing in delight, and the drinking begins.
By 2 in the afternoon many are stumbling drunk,
covered in paint, and out of ammunition. Hordes
of people flock to the beach to plunge in and wash
away the paint. By 4 in the afternoon most of the
paint is gone but a few hardy soles peek out through
a face coated in 5 different colors. By evening all
that remains of the day are pink streets, bits
of exploded water balloon, and smudges of color
on the sides of rickshaws and taxis.

I loved the experience today - people enjoyed
themselves and ran around as if there weren't a care
in the world. I loved hearing the high-pitched
giggles and squeals of the kids as they played,
and there was a smile on almost every face I saw.

Now next year I'm buying some paint ....