A World of Color… Holi Hai!!

Just for your reference, when you pass out in the Metro en route to work, it’s time for a break. Thankfully, this is not something I know from personal experience; rather, it is something I, unfortunately, witnessed one morning when I heard a sharp intake of breath, a dull ‘thunk,’ and realized that there was one less head in my line of sight in the Metro car.

It was one of those impressive moments in which strangers necessarily ban together to face something greater than their own differences or discomfort. Is there a doctor nearby (no), do we pull an alert to stop the train (no, we’re almost to the next stop), help him up, give him a seat (several of which were immediately vacated), how far is he going (Metro Center), has this happened before (no), has he eaten anything today (no), does he feel dizzy (resounding yes), will he go to the hospital (no)? The previously silent train car had erupted in a bustle of concerned outpourings and questions, but the young man was determined to walk it off. Sometimes you’ve just got to recognize that health and mental sanity require taking a breather.

As I was reminded last Saturday, some people already have that down pat. Experience of the week: holi, the Hindu festival of colors! I can’t say it enough- the rest of the world has been seriously missing out on an awesome celebration. While there are various legends between the festival (the one I’ve heard most being in honor of Krishna), what it comes down to is a massive and carefree celebration of life, color, and friendship… and all that good stuff. Color is everywhere- in the air, on the ground, covering your clothes and face, in your hair and ears. You name it, it’s there. What’s more, everything is fair game; step on to the streets of Kolkata on the day of holi, and you will quickly find yourself accosted by strangers with water balloons, hoses, handfuls of powder, and pretty much anything else they can get their hands on.



The video is set to the song “Mujhe Rang De” from Thakshak. The film composer for this one, A.R. Rahman, is deservingly well-known (known best to Westerns for Slumdog Millionaire, but impressive throughout Bollywood).

Proof of my partaking, though still somewhat low-key as it is halfway through my first holi experience. Shout out to Sonika and her camera phone, with a bit of screwing around to turn blur into vintage. :)

How did I find myself with green hair, a bespeckled black pea coat, and red splattered jeans and shoes? That, wonderfully enough, is compliments of the Association for India’s Development and its members, who were more than happy to reel me in for my first holi celebration. As I’ve mentioned previously, I am gradually becoming involved as an AID volunteer, inspired as a civic engagement project for TWC but continued out of sheer enjoyment and interest. Honestly, what little time I’ve spent with the AID and the experiences resulting from that have been some of my favorites thus far.

Dushyant and Sonika Sethi, AID members and fellow Arlington-residers kind enough to offer me rides to AID meetings, entertain, educate, and feed me on Saturdays, and all around awesome people. Quality conversation and multi-cultural stories and experiences - doesn’t get much better than that.

This Saturday featured a stop at Patel Brothers for “colors” (the powder used for holi celebrations… and me unaware that I’d get to see them up close and personal), the meeting at Dr. Bhagat's house in College Park, followed by “playing holi” in the yard, then joining the Sethi’s for a trip to Starbucks to meet with a potential doula and dinner at a Malaysian restaurant in DC. Yes, in that order- meaning we were still slightly color-spattered for both the meeting in Starbucks and going out to dinner. As it turns out, Washingtonians aren’t accustomed to seeing people decked out in their post-holi garb, and it results in some staring and vaguely repressed smiles. In any case, we were thoroughly enjoying ourselves, from discussion of upcoming events and progress reports at the meeting to conversation over a late dinner of roti, curry, shrimp, etc.

To continue the food extravaganza, I joined Medha, a fellow Media & Comm. intern, later on in the week to take advantage of a prime deal at Zorba’s Café, a Greek restaurant near Dupont Circle. Thanks to a website called Groupon, we pulled in $40 worth of food for just $20 of our already limited funds… and I’d say we did fairly well making our way through $40 worth of tabouli salad, pita and hummus, falafel, souvlaki, and baklava. After all, one must pay due attention to various cultures, correct? Sure thing.

Medha, predisposed to documentation via photograph (especially when she realized how little I enjoy having my picture taken--thus the fruity expression), was quick to make note of our loaded table.

The next morning featured a temporary shirking of WBJ duties, cause being a panel discussion hosted by the Voice of America, “Rebuilding Haiti’s Media: The Lifeline of Development.” The program was announced through our program adviser, and I was quick to take them up on the invite. Not only was I interested for sheer interest’s sake (and not surprisingly so, as one hoping to go into journalism via international affairs and politics), but the panel discussion meshes amazingly well with my current independent study project, a required factor for my school credits while at TWC. …An excellent event, and well worth the time missed at WBJ.

The panel featured a last minute stand-in for the Ambassador of Haiti (as you can imagine, a busy fellow), the Creole Service Chief of VOA, and representatives from Internews, the US AID/Office of Transition Initiatives, and the CommGAP at the World Bank. The heads featured here are just bonus, so you feel like you’re there…. ahem.

More on that later, though, I’m sure… if you’re interested in hearing more about any of the above (planning your own holi celebration, perhaps?), let me know- I’m always up for good conversation. For now, though, it’s time to hold off on further verbosity. Next up: a weekend in Carlisle, PA. :)