Text compiled by Venu Mathur

 

Holi falls on the full moon day in the month of Phalgun in the Hindu calendar, around March. But traditionally, the festivities start three days before the full moon. The first day, known as the Rang Pashi marks the beginning of the celebrations. In the evening, the entire family gathers together and the bahus of the family sprinkle gulal on all the male members in the family.
A separate Holi ka Khana Peena is organised around Holi when a similar rang pashi ceremony is conducted. This time it is the jamai (son in laws) who sprinkle colour.

Women wear a typical pink and white saree known as dandia on Holi. A description of the dandia would be appropriate at this stage. The dandia is a white cotton sari, preferably of voile or mulmul, the edges of which are coloured with a nonfast colour known as Indian pink. The dandia is made by dipping the gathered sides (all four) and letting the colour catch on to 2 to 3 inches of cloth, on all sides.
All the sides are done in turn. The colour spreads in uneven splendor and makes in roads into the cloth in the middle to a limited extent. When this cloth is dried, the middle can also be designed making small paisley designs or anything else that one likes. After it is dried, a full length of gota (gold or silver border about 2 to 3 inches in width) is stitched on to the dandia. The portion covering the head and the pallu end also has a kiran attached to it, thus giving it more shimmer. (Kiran means finely cut edges of a silver or gold border, a must for a bride) Dandia is usually accompanied by another sari, blouse and petticoat when given to a married daughter of the house. Dandias are also made for the unmarried daughters. Making a dandia is difficult these days, so this problem is solved by getting a sari printed in pink and attaching gota kinari to it. This dandia is worn for playing Holi and gets into quite a bad state, especially on a new bride, but it is a must for her. The older ones prefer to wear it only for Rand Pashi.

Seen in these pictures is Lala Girdhar Lal’s family. Girdhar Lal was my grandfather. Baua (mother/grandmother) gave birth to 16 children. 6 of them died at the time of birth. Girdhar Lal and his wife brought up 7 sons and 3 daughters in their Roshan Pura Haveli, called Bagichi. His family now consists of more than 100 members. Three of his sons live in Patparganj with their children and grandchildren. Every year, the Holi ka Khana Peena is organised in our flat in the Mathur Building and somehow everyone fits in!

Like every year, nearly 100 people from our immediate family got together for rang pashi and holi ka khana peena. While every one hung out together till lunch in the house we moved to the terrace for rang pashi,
An interesting aspect of community living is the line between public and private.

 

Holi is a major affair in the cultural event's calendar at the Mathur Building.Not as glorious as it use to be till some years ago, nevertheless it was totally fabulous. Dinner and cultural programme were organised by the Society Managing Committee on the eve to revive the festivities. According to an organiser, Mr Mathur, (!) "Things have changed a lot and for the worse in the last few years. People are too busy with their jobs and families. Initially, everyone looked forward toparticipating and celebrating all festivals together utilizing the common space in the building premises, but now people tend to celebrate with their families and not participate in the society activities. The whole point and essence of community living is lost! It is for this reason that we decided to organise a free dinner on the eve of Holi. And to our surprise all enthusiasts from the past and other unexpected members turned up. We wish to restore the charm of such festivities and hope to rejuvenate the essence of community living" This Holi, while the senior members from the community got together at the building lawn to celebrate Holi, this younger lot refused to be part of the community celebrations and decided to have their own Holi party with bhaang, kaleji and the Bluffmaster soundtrack, on the 7th floor terrace.