नमस्ते namaste : Holi Hai !! Khul Ke Khelo Holi !!!

Memories and colours somehow go together. Memories like photographs in an album have many shades.When you walk down the memory lane some memories planted by the wayside like flowers in all shades wave at you merrily and cheer you up. The childhood memories specially those of playing Holi shine at you in myriad colours.

Just like wedding preparations, the days preceding Dulhandi .. the day of playing with colours used to be full of excitement. There used to be discussions among classmates between periods about how we would play and the latest designs of pichkaris available in the market.

At home, kitchen used to be the centre of attraction. Mother would start making gujhias and daal ke samose for bhog. The aroma hanging in the air brought on the festive spirit. There was an art to it.

The ladies of the house would sit on the floor with the music playing on Vividh Bharati and would press the dough and the filling between their palms giving them the perfect shape, humming along the traditional songs all the while.

We would watch in awe from a distance as no one was allowed to touch the bhog before pooja. Once the bhog was set aside, mother would allow us an attempt to make as shapely gujhias and samosas as theirs. She would smile indulgently at our clumsy efforts to get the perfect shape.

As our nanihaal was in Vrindavan, we used to be at our nani's place sometimes to celebrate the festival in the traditional way of Krishna's Braj. Days before Holi, Samaj Gaayan would start at the temple. Such rich compositions describing how Krishna celebrated Holi set to the folk tunes and the beats of daph ! They would set the mood for a mischievous Holi in the land of Krishna !

There used to be Raas Leela in the folk tradition in which Holi was played with flowers, abeer and gulaal with the holi ke rasiyas being sung by a boisterous chorus of gwaal baal and sakhis.

On the day before Holi, the bonfire was lit and the story of Prahlad and his bua Holika was narrated to us. We were highly fascinated by the story and its moral.

We woke up with our hearts beating fast with excitement on Dulhandi morning. Once it happened so that till late morning no one came to play Holi from the neighborhood. We brothers and sisters were hugely disappointed but determined to play no matter what. Suddenly we heard our father saying that since no one seemed to be in a mood to play Holi, he would take bath and go to the temple.

An idea clicked instantly in our heads and a naughty exchange of glances took place. When our father stepped out of our house in a spotless white kurta pyjama like Gulzar Saahab, we were up on the roof. We called out from the rooftop and waved to him. The moment he stopped to look up at us, we lifted the bucket full of coloured water and poured it on him !

For an instant, my father was shocked by this totally unexpected assault of the villains ! And the villains were now scared to death ! What was the aftermath ??

Ha Ha ! Our parents were dismayed as a new set of clothes were useless now but they understood the children's innocent prank and forgave. Then it was followed by lots of delicious food and thandai and an afternoon nap. In the evening it was a family tradition to watch hasya kavi sammelan on Doordarshan with the entire family enjoying the bhang of humorous poetry !

Years have passed. Times have changed. But Holi still evokes mischievous thoughts and child like delight even in grown ups. The Parachute Advansed Khul Ke Khelo Holi advertisement which is more like a lyrical episode of emotional bonding brought back all the memories and inspired a noble thought....my family has decided to visit the nearby old age home on Holi this time with gujhias, daal ke chhote samosas, sakalparas ..thandai and we plan to sing Holi songs with them. Who knows ... that might add a dash of colourful happiness to their lonely lives and make all the joy and mirth worth it ..