happy holi!

i am lucky enough to have come to india just in time for one of the allegedly biggest and oldest festivals celebrated here: holi. usually, the festivities span two days but can, in certain parts of india an abroad, extend over as many as ten days.

on the first day, everybody wears traditional indian clothes (sari for women and kurta for men). the women paint their skins with henna and in the evening there are bonfires burning everywhere. the story behind holi includes a father who intended to alter the belief of his son prahlada. prahlada prayed to the god vishnu and denied his father's demand. therefore, the father tried to kill him. one attempt involves the father's sister holika who was able to walk through fire. she should jump onto a fire with prahlada so that he would burn. but vishnu stepped in again and both protected prahlada and made holika to die despite her tolerance to fire.

the second day is called “colour day” and basically consists of applying as many different colours to other people as possible. the colour can come in the form of coloured water or powder. in a nutshell, this day wipes away all differences bethween the celebrants such as caste affiliation. the downside of this friendly happening: as opposed to the old days, the celebrations do not entirely rely on natural colours. the use of artificially produced and very harmful colours comes cheaper and is therefore often widespread. symptoms caused by these artificial colours include skin conditions, temporary and rarely permanent blindness, and serious lung congestion.

depending on when i can leave the office today i will provide you with first-hand experiences...

ti-bob