More and more people are preferring to stay indoors during Holi, away from chemical and synthetic colour. But does that necessarily make their Holi boringIJ Prerna Sharma finds out
Recently, as I was standing on my balcony and looking at a toli of children gearing up for Holi by squirting coloured water at passers-by and rickshaw-wallahs, I was reminded of my childhood days. It was a festival not only of colour but of boundless joy, love and mischief. After 15 years, though, groups such as ours and the one downstairs were becoming a rarity. It is today either a Holi of puritanical restraint or obnoxious hooliganism. Men hiding behind a mask of colour think it is their birthright to leer at girls and pass comments while pressure at the workplace has changed this festival of joy to a day of lazy TV-watching. And there are others who give this festival a pass for fear of damaging their skin and hair with chemical colours. Every year, we read several stories in newspapers about colours that cause allergies, temporary blindness, skin cancer and even paralysis. As much as we must try to keep the spirit of the festival alive, one cannot as such be blamed for not participating in Holi celebrations.
Hence, over the years a new trend has been spotted. The youth today prefers to either sit at home and enjoy the festival in the safe environment of the virtual world or, if play they must, use natural colours.
Go natural!
If you are a traditionalist, waiting to go out there in a pair of white salwar kameez and smearing colour on your friends and family, fear not! Holi nowadays is not just about synthetic colour. Though the market is flooded with these cheaper, harmful alternatives, you don’t have to give them any more business than they are already enjoying. Swarang, Himanshu Verma initiative, shows people how to make their own Holi colours so they can enjoy themselves just the way they want to. “We have a grand celebration of Holi every year and see a lot of people holding back because of the fear of synthetic colour,” Verma said. “This got us thinking and we came up with Swarang. It saves people money and the completely unnecessary hassles of post-Holi skin and hair treatments. Our colours are not only natural but completely harmless even when ingested, as they are made of ingredients such as sandal, turmeric, rose, cinnamon and chocolate. What’s more, these will not blow a hole in your pocket.”
“We have received a lot of offers from Holi parties in the city, but not to the extent we had hoped for. I think the key lies in making people aware that a safe Holi is not wishful thinking any more,” he added.
This “trend” of natural colours, however, is not actually a new phenomenon. It is, like so many other things, a revival of the old. Many of us have seen our grandmothers making Holi colours at home from flowers of the tesu tree. There is a range of these eco-friendly powders and pastes that can be made from flower and vegetable extracts. Flowers such as rose, marigold, hibiscus and bougainvillea, and sandal, henna, tesu, turmeric, multani mitti, spinach and indigo are just a few of the organic options available.
Beauty expert Shahnaz Husain said, “Today chemical colour has made Holi a painful affair. Herbal is always better. And one can easily make these at home. Soak simmered tesu flowers in water overnight and the water will take on a beautiful golden yellow hue the next morning, which will not harm skin or eyes at all. Henna powder can also be mixed with gram flour (besan) or maize flour (makki) to get a royal green powder; mixing turmeric and gram flour or boiling beetroot in water gives one a nice, bright magenta. These are simple procedures, you don’t have to be a pro in the kitchen to be able to make these.”
Holi.com
So what do you do when you decide to stay indoorsIJ Either stay riveted to your computer table or glued to you mobile phone screen. But how is it so much better than actually being in the midst of celebrationsIJ let’s find out:
Be app(y)
“Only Holi, no hooliganism” is a stern message for revellers from the police. But what do you do when you have this insuppressible urge to throw a water balloon at a friendIJ You download a mobile app, of course. The developer of one such app said, “The moment your friend opens their mailbox, their screen is bombarded with water balloons. For those unfortunate people who have to work on Holi, it is a refreshing start to the day.”
“This Holi, let your mobile phone celebrate with you. Blackberry users can download a free Happy Holi theme which will dress up their screens with colourful eggs that represent network signals and various colours to indicate battery levels. In areas where connectivity is poor, eggs are replaced by hearts and in case you have low battery, the theme perks you up with virtual chocolates in place of the battery indicator.
“Happy Holi: Colour is a fun and entertaining app that is available to all Nokia users for free. Take a picture of your friend from your gallery and splash as many colours on it as you want. Then mail it to them as a surprise Holi “gift” or better, post it on Facebook and wait for their reaction.
“Magic Finger is a free Nokia app that helps you sketch that perfect picture with your fingers directly on your phone. Personalise it using the colours of your choice and send it to friends and family with a Happy Holi message.
Game on:
Games will never go out of fashion, be it a festival or a regular workday. What’s more, now you can play games online without having to download them first. There are a variety of multiplayer games especially developed for Holi that you can play with your friends. Choose from Holi Balloons, High on Holi, Balloon Fight etc to make the most of your Holi indoors. The winner is whoever throws a greater number of balloons in a minute or reaches a friend’s house first after crossing several hurdles. Sounds like the most childishly enjoyable way you can spend Holi.
Creative Strokes:
For the artistic ones, Touchtalent is hosting a special online Holi art exhibition this year. View more than 5,000 artworks based on Holi milan or baithaks (special Holi gatherings). The paintings range from typical images of lord Krishna playing with the gopi’s to modern abstracts. The brain behind the exhibition, 23-year-old Ankit Prasad, said, “Holi is a festival of colours but hectic schedules don’t permit us to enjoy it the way we would want to. So even if you’re sitting at home or in office, you can indulge your cultural interests. This online exhibition allows them to view and purchase paintings and even interact with the painters. Our last exhibition, which was on Women’s Day, saw traffic of more than 5,000 for a single painting. This time we are expecting a lot more.”
Sunanda (52) and Puneet (26), who are exhibiting their paintings on Touchtalent, said, “It’s a much bigger platform for showcasing your talent. It’s not always possible to display one’s work at galleries. There’s a lot of money involved and more often than not, an exhibition just remains an artist’s dream. But when it is an online exhibition, it’s just about uploading your creation online and voila — you are a participating artist.”
“Every colour has a language,” Puneet added. “Red stands for passion, white for peace and green for enthusiasm. We have used a range of hues, as Holi is all about colour.”
Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye
No festival is quite complete without sweets but for those who don’t want to step out on Holi, going to a confectionary can be a challenge. Even here, the online world steps in to offer solutions. With a boom in online shopping and services, everything can be delivered to your doorstep, including sweets. You can even try your hand at making a few sweets yourself — the internet is flooded with websites that teach you how to make a mean gujia. So what are you waiting forIJ log in and make the most of your day.