The Holi Blues

Today is Holi!!!

I am dreaming of playing with colors and gulal,
It is the Holi celebration after all.
I can't play inside my home, the carpets will get tainted,
I cant' play it in the yard, the grass and outer walls will get painted.
I thought I would go to the temple,
and enjoy the traditional Holi festivities,
Once again I am banned from playing with colors inside the temple,
I can't play the drums and sing "Holi hai" outside, as the neighbors don't like the noise.
Little disappointed, I surf the TV channels,
The news channels beam the festival directly in my living room,
and remind me of my cultural heritage,
I hear all the nice Holi songs and watch dances,
I enjoy Puas(sweets) and mutton curry as a special Holi treat,
but I still miss the colors and Gulal on my face.

As a kid, the full moon night before the Holi,
we had a big bonfire in the middle of little Indian City,
Next morning we will get up, make buckets of colored water,
No one in the neighborhood will be spared from colors,
When we ran out of the colors, mud, paint and coal tar,
would cover our faces in the cheerful spirit of Holi festival.

There was some special meaning playing Holi with girls,
this is the only day when we can get close to them....with some hesitation,
the wet colors dignified their bodies,
the dry colors showed their beauty in multi colors.

After our morning session, we came home to the big feast,
All the puas, puris, pulav, meat and vegetable curries made our mouth water.
In the evenings, we wore our new kurta and pajamas,
went door to door, played gulal with young and got the blessings of the old,
everyone offered their best sweet treats,

That was the real Holi, now it is only in my dreams.
And i just wonder weather i will ever.... relive my dreams.
Now I have a keyboard at my fingertips insted of "pichkai" but no colours....

Significance of Holi

In spite of being such a colourful and gay festival, there arevarious aspects of Holi which makes it so significant for our lives. Though they might not be so apparent but a closer look and a little thought will reveal the significance of Holi in more ways than meets the eyes. Ranging from socio-cultural, religious to biological there is every reason why we must heartily enjoy the festival and cherish the reasons for its celebrations.

So when, its time for Holi, please don't hold yourself back and enjoy the festival to the hilt by participating with full enthusiasm in every small tradition related to the festival.

Mythological Significance

Holi gets us close to our religion and our mythology as it is essentially the celebration of various legends associated with the festival.

Foremost is the legend of Prahlad and Hiranyakshyap. The legend says there once lived a devil and powerful king, Hiranyakshyap who considered himself a god and wanted everybody to worship him. To his great ire, his son, Prahlad began to worship, Lord Vishnu. To get rid of his son, Hiranyakshyap asked his sister, Holika to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad in her lap, as she had a boon to enter fire unscathed. Legend has it that Prahlad was saved for his extreme devotion for the lord while Holika paid a price for her sinister desire. The tradition of burning Holika or the 'Holika dahan' comes mainly from this legend.

Holi also celebrates the legend of Radha and Krishna which describes the extreme delight, Krishna took in applying colour on Radha and other gopis. This prank of Krishna later, became a trend and a part of the Holi festivities.

Mythology also states that Holi is the celebration of death of Ogress Pootana who tried to kill infant, Krishna by feeding poisonous milk to it.

Another legend of Holi which is extremely popular in Southern India is that of Lord Shiva and Kaamadeva. According to the legend, people in south celebrate the sacrifice of Lord of Passion Kaamadeva who risked his life to revoke Lord Shiva from meditation and save the world.

Also, popular is the legend of Ogress Dhundhi who used to trouble children in the kingdom of Raghu and was ultimately chased away by the pranks of the children on the day of Holi. Showing their belief in the legend, children till date play pranks and hurl abuses at the time of Holika Dahan.

Cultural Significance

Celebration of the various legends associated with Holi reassure the people of the power of the truth as the moral of all these legends is the ultimate victory of good over evil. The legend of Hiranyakashyap and Prahlad also points to the fact that extreme devotion to god pays as god always takes his true devotee in his shelter.

All these legends help the people to follow a good conduct in their lives and believe in the virtue of being truthful. This is extremely important in the modern day society when so many people resort to evil practices for small gains and torture one who is honest. Holi helps the people to believe in the virtue of being truthful and honest and also to fight away the evil.

Besides, holi is celebrated at a time of the year when the fields are in full bloom and people are expecting a good harvest. This gives a people a good reason to rejoice, make merry and submerge themselves in the spirit of Holi.

Social Significance

Holi helps to bring the society together and strengthen the secular fabric of our country. For, the festival is celebrated by non-Hindus also as everybody like to be a part of such a colouful and joyous festival.

Also, the tradition of the Holi is that even the enemies turn friends on Holi and forget any feeling of hardship that may be present. Besides, on this day people do not differentiate between the rich and poor and everybody celebrate the festival together with a spirit of bonhomie and brotherhood.

In the evening people visit friends and relatives and exchange gifts, sweets and greetings. This helps in revatalising relationships and strengthening emotional bonds between people.

Biological Significance

It is interesting to note that the festival of Holi is significant for our lives and body in many other ways than providing joy and fun.

We also need to thank our forefathers who started the trend of celebrating Holi at such a scientifically accurate time. And, also for incorporating so much fun in the festival.

As Holi comes at a time of the year when people have a tendency to feel sleepy and lazy. This is natural for the body to experiences some tardiness due to the change from the cold to the heat in the atmosphere. To counteract this tardiness of the body, people sing loudly or even speak loudly. Their movements are brisk and their music is loud. All of this helps to rejuvenate the system of the human body.

Besides, the colours when sprayed on the body have a great impact on it. Biologists believe the liquid dye or Abeer penetrates the body and enters into the pores. It has the effect of strengthening the ions in the body and adds health and beauty to it.

There is yet another scientific reason for celebrating the Holi, this however pertains to the tradition of Holika Dahan. The mutation period of winter and spring, induces the growth of bacteria in the atmosphere as well as in the body. When Holika is burnt, temperature rises to about 145 degrees Fahrenhiet. Following the tradition when people perform Parikrima (circumambulation or going around) around the fire, the heat from the fire kills the bacteria in the body thus, cleansing it.

The way Holi is celebrated in south, the festival also promotes good health. For, the day after the burning of Holika people put ash (Vibhuti) on their forehead and they would mix Chandan (sandalpaste) with the young leaves and flowers of the Mango tree and consume it to promote good health.

Some also believe that play with colours help to promote good health as colours are said to have great impact on our body and our health. Western-Physicians and doctors believe that for a healthy body, colours too have an important place besides the other vital elements. Deficiency of a particular colour in our body causes ailment, which can be cured only after supplementing the body with that particular colour.

People also clean-up their houses on Holi which helps in clearing up the dust and mess in the house and get rid of mosquitoes and others pests. A clean house generally makes the residents feel good and generate positive

Chhatt Puja - an offering to the Sun

'केलवा जे फरेला घवद से, ओह पर सुगा मे़ड़राय

काँच ही बाँस के बहंगिया, बहंगी लचकत जाए' है।

Sun is the biggest source of energy and that's the reason Indian mythology treats sun as God. Can you imagine life on earth without sun? It rises daily to give life to earth and to thank Sun, people from Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh celebrate Chhatt and this festival has been carried to all parts of India and some part of Mauritius and few Caribbean island by this migrants.

Chhatt Puja is celebrated on the sixth day from Diwali and in this the Sun god is worshiped. As it is in reverence to sun god it's celebrated with friends and relatives near a water body without any class distinction making it a Lokprava or community festival.

The preparation for celebrating Chhatt puja starts two day before, the first day is known as "nahaye khaye" meaning house cleaning, bath and eat, the next day is known as "Kharna" where the more devout observe a day long fast without even taking a drop of water, well this fast is mostly observed by the womenfolk for the betterment of their families. On kharna Kheer is made fron milk and jaggery and is distributed in the neighbourhood. This is the last time devotees have food and water before having a 36 hour fast. In the night of Kharna, Thekuan or Khajoor (Sweet made of wheat, sugar/jaggery deep fried in ghee) is made as a prasad (offering to god). The Thekuan made during Chhat has a special aroma and this taste and aroma is difficult to replicate if cooked during non festive occasion.

The third day of Chhatt is called "Sandhya Arag" in which people go to the water bodies to offer prayer- standing waist deep in water- to setting sun god. A basket made of bamboo is filled with offerings of fruit and sweets are made to the god along with Dia(earth lamp) is lit over it. The vratdhari (person who fasts) holds this basket facing the sun and other people pour milk and water on the basket. There is a proverb "People worship the rising sun" but in chhat the setting sun is worshipped first and then the rising sun. In the wee hours of next morning people return back to offer prayers to the rising sun and offer Arag to the rising sun which marks the end of the festival and prasad is distributed not only to near and dear ones but even to strangers.

As Chhatt puja being a community affair, the entire streets leading to the water body is cleaned and even a non Hindu community clean the street adjacent to the house giving it a secular colour.

The last 5-6 years have seen this festival grow in popularity and Delhi Government this year had made special arrangements like erection of tents, lights and sanitation at as many as 28 places including ghats at Yamuna at Kalindi Kunj, Wazirabad, Geeta Colony and ITO Bridge. Large numbers of devout throng these sites to offer prayers. Chandigar government had opened up a dedicated pond for this festival.But the politics of Raj Thakeray and his Anti North Indian campain has given it a more media attention. Slowly greed of politicians is creeping in Chhatt. In mumbai North Indian migrant gather along the baach (mainly Juhu) for Chhatt and politicians eye this gathering as a show of strength of migrant people which has made Bal and Raj Thackeray feel insecure.

This is my appeal to the Politician if India. Please stop politicising this festival. Let Chhatt be as pure and as sacred as a belief of a common man who has faith in sun god. In Bihar crime rate goes down to minimal during this festival even consumption of liquor goes to nil. Evan those hard core criminals fear for the faith people have in this festival. When will you change.

The Begining of festival season

एक मधुर सुगंधित आहट। आहट त्योहार की। आहट रास, उल्लास और श्रृंगार की। आहट आस्था, अध्यात्म और उच्च आदर्शोंके प्रतिस्थापन की। एक मौसम विदा होता है और सुंदर सुकोमल फूलों की वादियों के बीच खुल जाती है श्रृंखला त्योहारों की। श्रृंखला जो बिखेरती है चारों तरफ खुशियों के खूब सारे खिलते-खिलखिलाते रंग। हर रंग में एक आस है, विश्वास और अहसास है। हर पर्व में संस्कृति है, सुरूचि और सौंदर्य है। ये पर्व न सिर्फ कलात्मक अभिव्यक्ति के परिचायक हैं, अपितु इनमें गुँथी हैं, सांस्कृतिक परंपराएँ, महानतम संदेश और उच्चतम आदर्शों की भव्य स्मृतियाँ। इन सब के केंद्र में सुव्यक्त होती है - शक्ति। उस दिव्य शक्ति के बिना किसी त्योहार, किसी पर्व, किसी रंग और किसी उमंग की कल्पना संभव नहीं है। हमारे समस्त रीति-रिवाज, तीज-त्योहार या अनुष्ठान-विधान गृहस्वामिनी के हाथों ही संपन्न होते हैं। इस धरा की महकती मिट्‍टी की महिमा है कि स्त्री इतने सम्मानजनक स्थान पर प्रतिष्ठापित है। सदियों पूर्व इसी सौंधी वसुंधरा पर भगवान श्रीकृष्ण ने अर्जुन को अपना विराट स्वरूप दिखाते हुए कहा था - 'कीर्ति: श्री वार्क्च नारीणां स्मृति मेर्धा धृति: क्षमा।' अर्थात नारी में मैं, कीर्ति, श्री, वाक्, स्मृति, मेधा, धृति और क्षमा हूँ। दूसरे शब्दों में इन नारायण तत्वों से निर्मित नारी ही नारायणी है। संपूर्ण विश्व में भारत ही वह पवित्र भूमि है, जहाँ नारी अपने श्रेष्ठतम रूपों में अभिव्यक्त हुई है। आर्य संस्कृति में भी नारी का अतिविशिष्ट स्थान रहा है। आर्य चिंतन में तीन अनादि तत्व माने गए हैं - परब्रह्म, माया और जीव। माया, परब्रह्म की आदिशक्ति है एवं जीवन के सभी क्रियाकलाप उसी की इच्छाशक्ति होते हैं। ऋग्वेद में माया को ही आदिशक्ति कहा गया है उसका रूप अत्यंत तेजस्वी और ऊर्जावान है। फिर भी वह परम कारूणिक और कोमल है। जड़-चेतन सभी पर वह निस्पृह और निष्पक्ष भाव से अपनी करूणा बरसाती है। प्राणी मात्र में आशा और शक्ति का संचार करती है। देवी भागवत के अनुसार - 'समस्त विधाएँ, कलाएँ, ग्राम्य देवियाँ और सभी नारियाँ इसी आदिशक्ति की अंशरूपिणी हैं। एक सू‍क्ति में देवी कहती हैं - 'अहं राष्ट्री संगमती बसना अहं रूद्राय धनुरातीमि' अर्थात् - 'मैं ही राष्ट्र को बाँधने और ऐश्वर्य देने वाली शक्ति हूँ। मैं ही रूद्र के धनुष पर प्रत्यंचा चढ़ाती हूँ। धरती, आकाश में व्याप्त हो मैं ही मानव त्राण के लिए संग्राम करती हूँ।' विविध अंश रूपों में यही आदिशक्ति सभी देवताओं की परम शक्ति कहलाती हैं, जिसके बिना वे सब अपूर्ण हैं, अकेले हैं, अधूरे हैं।

हमारी यशस्वी संस्कृति स्त्री को कई आकर्षक संबोधन देती है। माँ कल्याणी है, वही पत्नी गृहलक्ष्मी है। बिटिया राजनंदिनी है और नवेली बहू के कुंकुम चरण ऐश्वर्य लक्ष्मी आगमन का प्रतीक है। हर रूप में वह आराध्या है। पौराणिक आख्यान कहते हैं कि अनादिकाल से नैसर्गिक अधिकार उसे स्वत: ही प्राप्त हैं। कभी माँगने नहीं पड़े हैं। वह सदैव देने वाली है। अपना सर्वस्व देकर भी वह पूर्णत्व के भाव से भर उठती है। भारतीय स्त्री का हर रूप अनूठा है, अनुपम है, अवर्णनीय है। एक पहचान, एक परिभाषा, एक श्लोक, एक मंत्र या एक सूत्र में भला कैसे अभिव्यक्त हो सकती है? साहस, संयम और सौंदर्य जैसे दिव्य-दिव्य गुणों को समयानुरूप इतनी दक्षता से प्रकट करती है कि सारा परिवेश चौंक उठता है।

यही कारण है कि त्योहारों का आगमन उसके रोम-रोम से प्रस्फुटित होता है। उसकी मन-धरा से सुगंधित लहरियाँ उठने लगती हैं। उसके श्रृंगार में, रास-उल्लास में, आचार-विचार और व्यवहार में, रूचियों, प्रकृतियों और प्रवृत्तियों से त्योहार के सजीले रंग सहज ही झलकने लगते हैं। गति, लय, ताल तरंग सब पायल के नन्हे घुँघरुओं से खनक उठते हैं। बाह्य श्रृंगार से आंतरिक कलात्मकता मुखरित होने लगती है। पर्वों की रौनक से उसके चेहरे का नमक चमक उठता है। शील, शक्ति और शौर्य का विलक्षण संगम है भारतीय नारी। नौ पवित्र दिनों की नौ शक्तियाँ नवरात्रि में थिरक उठती हैं। ये शक्तियाँ अलौकिक हैं। परंतु दृष्टि हो तो इसी संसार की लौकिक सत्ता हैं। अदृश्य नहीं है, वे यही हैं। त्योहारों पर व्यंजन परोसती अन्नपूर्णा के रूप में, श्रृंगारित स्वरूप में वैभवलक्ष्मी बनकर, बौद्धिक प्रतिभागिता दर्ज कराती सरस्वती और मधुर संगीत की स्वरलहरी उच्चारती वीणापाणि के रूप में। शौर्य दर्शाती दुर्गा भी वही, उल्लासमयी थिरकने रचती, रोम-रोम से पुलकित अम्बा भी वही है। एक नन्ही सी कुंकुम बिंदिया उसकी आभा में तेजोमय अभिवृद्धि कर देती है। कंगन की कलाकारी जिसकी कोमल कलाई में सजकर कृतार्थ हो जाती है। जो स्वर्ण शोरूम में सहेजा होता है वह उस पर सजकर ही धन्य होता है।

मेहँदी की आकृतियाँ ही सुंदर होती तो पन्नों पर पर क्यों नहीं खिल उठती? यह उसकी गुलाबी नर्म हथेलियाँ होती हैं जो मेहँदी को भव्यता प्रदान करती है। उसके श्रृंगार में मन के समूचे सुंदर भाव सुव्यक्त हो उठते हैं। गरबों की थरकन से लेकर पूजा की पुलक तक में संपूर्ण संस्कृति उसके सौम्य स्वरूप में झरती है। मधुर मुस्कान और मोहक व्यक्तित्व से संपन्न सृष्टि की इतनी सुंदर रचना हमारे बीच है, पर हमारी दृष्टि क्यों बाधित हो जाती है? क्यों नहीं पहचान पाते हम? बाँहों भर आकाश नहीं दे सकते हम। नहीं जानते कि आकाश जितनी लंबी बाँहें हैं उसकी। अनंत, अपार, असीम। उसने विस्तारित नहीं की है। शून्य से शिखर तक पहुँचने की अशेष शक्ति निहित है उसमें। इस नवरात्रि पर प्रार्थना करें, हर देवी में स्फुरित हो ऐसे सुंदर भाव कि समा सके वह समूचा आसमान और नाप सके सारी धरती अपने सुदृढ़ कदमों से।. . . .