When ones nationality doesn’t matters at all,
When all the walls of discrimination witness a mighty fall,
When the age is no bar,
When ones despondency has gone very far,
When whom one prays is never seen,
When the grass on all the sides in equally green,
It is the time when the calendar marks the arrival of the month of March. It is the time when the entire world meets up and joins to celebrate and have a fabulous time. It is the when HOLI begins. Holi was originally a Hindu spring festival but now it is a festival celebrated by all. It had its roots in India but now its branches spread throughout the world. Holi is also called as the festival of love and the major reason of it being called so, is because while celebrating holi everyone comes together in a bond of brotherhood and forget their previous bad relations.
The festival signifies the win of good over shrewdness and passes on a message that however malicious may have all the earmarks of being solid and ground-breaking at the end of the day it is vanquished by goodness which is eternal.
Holi dates back its celebration till the 4th century when holika was burnt .She was hiranyakashipu’s sister and was supporting her evil brother in killing his own son but was defeated and destroyed. Holi is also known as Holika dahan in many places.
This colorful festival is celebrated by people of all nationalities, religions and ages and is a great example of unity. People meet their relatives, families and friends and spend a quality time with their families which they are not able to spend due to the work load and regularly developing riotous calendar.
There is plethora of happiness in the environment. People laugh and gossip, and share Holi delicacies, food and drinks. The main holi sweet is gujia which is eaten and loved by everyone. Some customary drinks include bhang which is intoxicating.
People throw colored powders on each other disregarding who he/she is. Anyone and everyone Is a fair game, let it be strangers, rich or poor, man or woman.
The best part of this festival which I feel as a kid is usage of water balloons, water filled pichkaaris and colors. I really enjoy when I throw water balloons and make people wet with my pichkaari. What more can a child wish for rather than celebrating holi all 365 day and eating gujias and sweets all day long?( though it’s not possible but is a wish of every child). It is actually the only thing (celebrating holi) for which kids can willingly leave their phones and electronics.
There are groups of people who play dholaks, sing and dance on the streets. People literally dance madly, and fill their cup of enjoyment to the fullest. By late in evening everyone looks like a canvas of colors. There are mass water fights in which thousands of people divide themselves amongst two teams and through water on each other. When the clock strikes 8 at night, people gather around bonfires and enjoy the taste of the traditional dishes. Late at night it seems as if people are celebrating mini diwali as noises of cracker can easily be heard.
To end it all it is the day which unifies everyone and makes us realize the fact that though we all might not belong to same caste, same religion, same age groups, same races but everyone ultimately begin and end their lives as human beings.
Author Bio : Anika Singh, 10th standard student from Ahlcon International school, Mayur vihar phase 1, Delhi. A participant of International Essay Competition, October 2018.
