Desi News Corp - Index

Desi News Corp - Desi News - March 2009 - Index

mindSET
Spring makes a big splash
What do Holi celebrations mean in Canada?
Warm enough for Holi?
Every year, I call friends and
family back home to wish them
on Holi and believe it or not,
every year, they ask if it’s warm
enough to play Holi here! It’s
like all my grumbling about the
deep freeze does not register!
Last year, I asked my cousin
which part of “It’s cold, cold,
cold!” did she have difficulty
understanding, and she said she
was hoping there’d be one benefit
of global warming – it
warming up enough for us to
enjoy Holi here! Until that happens,
we mark Holi with a visit
to the temple. – M. SAREEN
16 Desi News March 2009
In Krishna’s footsteps
On one unforgettable Holi,
my father took the family to the
sites one associates with Holi
lore. We went to Mathura, Brindavan,
Gokul...all over Brij
Bhoomi. There, fervour of the
celebrations and the pujas start
well in advance of the day the
rest of the country celebrates
Holi. There are plays and bonfires
and lots of prasad and yes,
bhang! I was a kid, and not allowed
to do more than dip the
tip of my tongue in a glass of
sweet bhang, but the adults enjoyed
it thoroughly!
– PUSHKAR RAUT
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Colourful memories
I know many people say they don’t like to play Holi, but I am an
unabashed fan. Have always been, since I was a child. Even though
as South Indians, we are not even real Holi players to begin with!
But my dad was in the Indian army and we were stationed in Delhi
for many years, and oh the fun I had with my friends on Holi. I
really miss those days. – VARSHA RAO
A taste of home
What I really look forward to
on Holi are gujiyas! I know a lady
who makes them on order and
we always get a big basket to
share with friends. My grandma’s
gujiyas were the best ever,
and these don’t come close, but
they are delicious, nevertheless,
and take me home like no other
taste does.
– GOPIKA BHAR GAV
What’s the point?
I honestly don’t see the point
of Holi in this day and age. It is
an ancient courtship ritual, a
socially sanctioned day when
men and women could interact
openly in an otherwise rigid society.
Now that dating and
pubbing are as common in urban
India as anywhere else in
the world, what’s the point of
spraying each other with chemical
dyes? – SUMEDH S HUKLA
The colours of Spring
Even though it doesn’t look
remotely like Spring when Holi
rolls around in Toronto, I refuse
to let that dampen my spirits. I
celebrate the festival of Spring
by wearing spring colours – the
brightest outfit in my wardrobe!
Never mind if I have to wrap
myself in three layers over that!
Call it childlike, call it silly, but I
enjoy Holi!
– ISHA GUPTA
Celebrate colour
Holi? Here? You’re kidding
me, right? Who plays Holi here?
Not the polite touch-someonewith-a-dot-of-gulal
kind, but the
all-out exuberant fun fest that
real Holi is all about? The
weather doesn’t help, but if one
is creative, it can be done! Don’t
people have pool parties by
heated pools? How about a Holi
pool party?! But we are all too
civilized now! In India, there’s a
lot of rough play involved, but
that’s not what real Holi is. Holi
is a festival of innocence and
colour – something we can all
appreciate at any age!
– BRIJ MATHUR
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