Today is Holi! Let the colors be thrown!
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| Holi color for sale in Jodhpur |
Holi marks the transition into the summer in India. Or rather, the hot season, as India does not have four seasons but rather just three: cold, hot, and rainy.
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| Burning Holika across from the SIT program center |
I now, without the use of Wikipedia or any other resource, will explain my understanding of this festival:
One incarnation of the god Vishnu was a boy prince, who was benevolent, wonderful and already beloved by his people. His father, the king, was jealous of his son's rising power, so was the king's sister, Holika. So they decided to get rid of him. Holika had a holy/magical shawl that protected its wearer from fire, so they decided that she would hold the prince in her lap and sit in a fire. However, when they lit the bonfire, and she held the prince in her arms, there was such a strong wind that the shawl blew off of her shoulders and onto the prince's - protecting the prince and burning Holika. Vishnu lived! We all celebrate!
To celebrate, people burn effigies of Holika the night before, then spend Holi drinking bhang lassis (a bhang is a liquid derivative of cannabis), throwing color powder and having water fights. Your clothes get ruined. We celebrated by getting up early (to avoid the rowdy gents) and coming to a guest house for essentially, an Indian cookout. Music, dancing, color, but no bhang here. We were each allotted two Kingfishers though!
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| Taylor and I - Holi Champs |
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| Patrice, Lizzy, Gretchen, Nadine and Kate |
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| Trilochanji, Manoji, and Peter |
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