Holi: Between Tradition and Turmoil

By: Ozma Siddiqui

Holi is a typical Hindu festival which marks the onset of spring after the full moon, usually in March. For several decades, however, the festival has been steeped in controversy. A random google search only confounds the ambiguity and confusion surrounding this rather dubious Hindu celebration; dubious because there is no right answer. 

Some claim to link it with Radha and Krishna, while others speak of a rivalry between two mythical characters. Yet another talks of the victory of good over evil. That said, the festival of colours is not up everybody’s lane. Wild crowds aiming plastic toy guns filled with colour at unsuspecting strangers drenching them in murky liquid can be an unnerving experience. 

Men and women mingle in a jungle of suppressed emotions which threaten to run riot any minute. Everybody gets a free license to touch, tease and generally get away with murder. A famous movie ‘Damini’ with Meenakshi Seshadri in the lead role revolves around this uncomfortable theme aiming to bring justice to a domestic help who became a multiple-rape victim during the celebrations. Her screams for help were drowned amid the loud drum beats, music and wild dancing. The poor girl dies tragically but not before the perpetrators are brought to book and a moral message conveyed via the dark theme.

The scene of Holi revellers is much like that of the Roman mythological figure, Bacchus, god of agriculture, wine and fertility who roams the land at will, with not the best of intentions!

 Although Holi is supposed to be a time when one can let their hair down, be free from societal restrictions for a while, and give vent to suppressed emotions leading to a catharsis of sorts, some women (and men) are traumatised by this festival which promotes raucous behaviour.

Can Holi be celebrated at home among close family and friends? Of course it can! Would it be better than targeting strangers on the streets and making the streets dirty? Again, the answer is ‘Yes’. In a country where civic sense is seriously lacking, celebrating on the streets means that there is no one to pick up after you.

Will people take to the idea of celebrating at home? Most probably not. Am I at risk of castigation for speaking up? Yes, of course!

There is another festival which deserves mention: Deepavali or the festival of lights where gambling and alcohol are the hallmarks of this important celebration. But more on that, next time.