Holi – The Festival of Colours
Those of you that know me, know I use this phrase a lot! So I’ve been waiting a while to write a blog called ‘Holi Mackerel’ to celebrate the Holi festival in Nepal! I spent Holi – the famous festival of colours – in Pokhara five years ago. It was amazing! I’d seen colourful photos of this special day, but never thought I’d actually experience it! I put on some old clothes and protected my valuables, not really knowing what to expect. I left my guest house feeling excited but anxious!
Would I have to go and find the fun, or would it find me? My answer came quickly. Within about five seconds of being outside, some kids pelted me with coloured powder and the games began!
Celebrating the Arrival of Spring, and Overcoming Evil!
I’m not so keen on the winter months, even if they’re relatively mild in the lowlands of Nepal. So, celebrating the arrival of spring is right up my street!
The Hindu spring festival of Holi also represents the victory of good overcoming evil – bravo! (As well as several other Hindu mythologies).
The festival begins the night before when bonfires are lit to destroy evil. The following day, people take to the streets to celebrate good overcoming evil. Everyone is fair game. Refreshingly – caste, status and other society divides are forgotten during this festival. Now that’s good overcoming evil in my book!
What to Expect
The streets fill with people throwing multi-coloured powder at each other. You can buy it from one of many sellers on the street. Water is used too, in water balloons, water pistols and worse! I actually got a whole bucket of water dumped on me! Every time I saw my reflection that day, I was a different colour! It was an amazing and liberating experience, and a whole lot of fun that I would highly recommend!
If you’re lucky enough to celebrate the Holi festival in Nepal or India, you’ll want to take photos of the madness and incredible colour everywhere. My advice is to take a cheap camera or make sure it’s well covered with plastic to protect it.
Above all, let go and enjoy the fun! Happy Holi everyone!