Rang Birangi Holi aayee
Dhoom Machaati Holi aayee
Bachchon ki hae toli aayee
Rang Gulal Udaati aayee

When the Indian subcontinent is getting roasted with the sun right on top of their heads, there comes something to soak the people with its vibrancy. Holi is a festival which is always looked forward to each year. It is because of its vivacious delight that rejoices every mind which is stressed with the worries and sorrows surrounded around them. Holi comes as a gush of fresh air which is celebrated every year by all Indians irrespective of their socio-cultural discrepancies. Holi in India is celebrated based on the many legendary stories for which the Indian scriptures stand as the ultimate proof.

One reference says that Holi is celebrated to commemorate the victory of good over the evil when HiranyaKashipu – the evil atheistic king, spoke ill about Lord Vishnu by challenging his little son Prahlada about the non-existence of the sacred, ultimate power. His ignorance and arrogance were defeated by wisdom when Lord Vishnu appeared from inside a pillar which was smashed by the wicked king to prove his point. This historical win is now celebrated as “Holi”. The previous day talks about burning the pyre of wood which symbolises the triumph over “Holika”, the wicked Aunt of Prahlad who is a magical witch. Even to this day, this is the reason why the customary Holika is decorated with old rags and things from home and is burnt to signify the death of negativity.

The Mahabharatha scriptures tell a different, meaningful story about the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Krishna’s dark complexion and Radha’s spotless skin…their unconditional love and the celebrated unity of this divine couple bring in the two elements as colours.

Holi is said to have celebrated after 40 days of Basant Panchami – the day when Goddess Parvathi seeks the help of Kamadeva – the celestial embodiment of Love. Kamadeva was burnt down into ashes by Lord Shiva after the latter shot an arrow to break the Lord Shiva’s penance to help Goddess Parvathi in getting her husband back to her.

Holi is then celebrated after Rati – KaamaDeva’s wife performs staunch meditation after which Shiva realizes the intentions that end in the happy unity of KaamaDeva and Rathi.

Holi is not just celebrated for its historical significance. It is now celebrated for the happiness, positivity and the celebration it brings in with colours. The colour, the music, sweets and savouries, gathering with loved ones and visiting the family brings in a lot of optimism and cheerfulness to one’s life. Holi teaches us important lessons of life. It advises us to forget and forgive like Lord Shiva, overlook the differences and stay together as one like Krishna and Radha; and enlightens us to believe in ourselves and the positive values like Prahlada.

We Indians are living in this big university called India which through its textbooks called rich history, preaches the values of love, compassion and unity in various chapters through various classes of life. Children in our country are treated as Gods who bring in lots of happiness and positivity to our home. The tiny steps get with them a hope of change which we cherish with their childhood.

Holi throws light on the values of life where each colour upholds different morals. Green – the sanctity of Mother Nature, red – the prosperity symbol, blue tells us that sky is the limit and yellow gets in the festivity of spring which is the embodiment of harvesting. The festival is by itself a handbook for all of us which says that we have to respect the nature with all our heart and by doing this our life will be full of colours that would be celebrated each day. It is our responsibility as parents to instil this spirit of Indian festivity to our children.

In this era where we speak to our near ones through virtual chats and meet them rarely, a spark of such festivals can light up their childhood with a sense of belongingness and their longing for family and culture will be involuntarily instigated.

May this festival of colours bring in shades of happiness, hues of contentment with a tinge of wisdom that all colours meet together to make just one colour – White – the emblem of truth and purity.

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There are few moments in our school days which we fondly look forward for. They are the vacations which we get other than the long summer vacations. It’s the Dusshehra/Dasara vacations and the year end Christmas vacations which we get during the end of the Term one and the Term two exams respectively. I’m sure there were days when we used to bury our noses inside our books during these term exams just with a ray hope that this will end soon with the arrival of the vacations which would be round the corner very soon. Dasara/Navarathri vacations hold a significant place in each our minds due to the gush of memories that brought in, into our lives. The glorious childhood nostalgia which included visits to our grandparents’ place which promised nothing less than never ending pampering with gifts and snacks, the festivities, the cousins’ jamming up and to top it all…all these lasts for a royal 8 to 10 days which always seemed to pass pretty swiftly.

या देवी सर्वभुतेषु क्षान्तिरूपेण संस्थिता ।

या देवी सर्वभुतेषु शक्तिरूपेण संस्थिता ।

या देवी सर्वभुतेषु मातृरूपेण संस्थिता ।

या देवी सर्वभुतेषु बुद्धिरूपेण संस्थिता ।

नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥

Oh Goddess! The omnipresent, the glorious personification of peace, courage, compassion and wisdom…I bow to thee again and again.

Dasara or Dusshehra as the name suggests it is a 10 day long celebration which signifies valour, the triumph of truth and wisdom, the joy of the evil defeat. India, known for its vivid and vivacious celebration, the reason too is varied and interesting. Let us take a quick tour of some places in India and their different celebrations which collectively gathers the sheen of this festivity which is celebrated across the country with different name and different ways.

KARNATAKA:

Karnataka is a land of Sandalwood, Coffee and Cauvery which is a rich treasure of nature and resources. The people here celebrate Dasara by offering different kinds of poojas everyday for 9 days for the various forms of Goddess Durga. Koumaari, Brahmi, Vaishnavi, Vaaraahi and some of the forms which Maa Durga transformed herself for the evil hunt. The Bombe Habba or the Dolls festival is also observed to remember the Gods and Goddesses when miniature dolls of them are set on platforms and decorated at home for Dasara. Mysore – the cultural capital of Karnataka, is usually flooded with people visiting from all over the world during Dasara. “Mysooru Dasara” is globally popular and the festival is initiated by the Royal Wodeyars of Mysore and the tradition is still alive with the spirit increasing year by year. The festival is celebrated in the honour of Goddess Chamundeshawari, the residing deity of Mysore, who fearlessly defeated and killed the demon Mahishaasura who was menacing around, causing trouble. VijayaDashami – Vijaya : Victorious Dashami – 10, is the day when this legendary story occurred and to commemorate this there would be a huge procession wherein the Golden Idol of Goddess Chamundeshawari would be seated comfortably on the most trusted Royal Elephant, escorted by Infantry, Cavalry and the folk artistes with pomp and show. This procession marks the highlight of the whole of the 9 day long celebrations which concludes with the traditional rituals and royal retreat.

WEST BENGAL:

This “City of Joy” , India’s “Cultural Capital” is very famous for the “Durga Pujo” or the Durga Pujaa which includes lifesize dolls of Goddess Durga who is decorated with 16 elements of a prosperous married lady [Solah-Singaar] and the Pooja with other offerings are done. The women folk who are married usually come to their maternal place for this pooja as a symbolic representation of bringing in joy and happiness back home. Idols made of straw and clay are painted, then decorated with silk and ornaments and this would be seen in various “Durga Pandals” all across the popular streets of West Bengal which would be bustling with shopping and food stalls. People shop for the whole family and also for their friends as this marks the celebration of spreading happiness. On the 10^th day of the festival which is the VijayaDashami: Women offer sweets and sindhoor [Vermilion] to the idol of Goddess Durga and bid her goodbye who will be returning to her husband’s place after happily blessing everyone during the puja. The remaining Kumkum[Vermilion] is then put on each other by the women folk known as “Sindhoor Khela” which is applied blessing the longevity of their husband and a prosperous wed life.

DELHI:

Based on the ancient Indian sacred epic “Ramayana” – a stage play called “Ramleela” would be staged at various prime venues. These stage plays depicts the courage and the spirit of good which came victorious against the evil wherein Lord Ram wages a war against the wicked Ravana and defeats him in a war which is believed to be the day of VijayaDashami. Vijaya translates to Victory and Dashami marks the 10^th and the last day of Dusshehra. As a glorious climax of this play, mammoth idols of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghanad are burnt by shooting torched arrows in the big grounds of Ramleela maidan which would be stupendously decorated during these 10 days. The many variants of the similar fashion of celebration can also be found in the other parts of the country like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

KULLU:

It all goes back to 17th century when King Jagat Singh installed an idol of Lord Raghunath on his chariot as a mark of penance. Since then, Lord Raghunath has become the favourite deity of the people residing in this beautiful valley of Kullu. A week long processions, women folk dancing their way to please the lord and a great celebration of sweets and snack distribution would be a usual scene at Kullu during Dasara. People from all over the world gather here at Dhalpur Maidan of Kullu for the Vijayadashami celebrations which commemorate the victorious rule of the King Jagat Singh and his devotion towards the Lord Raghunath, the ruling deity of Kullu.

GUJARAT:

Halo re!!! The Kedias and the Shararas swings in rhythmic patterns for the hypnotic beats of Dhandiya during the Navaratri. That’s Gujarat for you! Dhandiya Ras is played in the praise of Ambe Maa, Goddess Durga.  Dhandiya is a traditional dance which involves use of the sticks that are struck at regular intervals with the typical rhythm pattern . This dance form took birth during ancient time when Lord Krishna was said to have playing this Dhandiya Ras with all his ladies of love interest. Dandhiya, however today is a major festive environment which has interested the youth and is conducted at almost all places of India for it’s electrifying experience that brings with it. Men and women gather in a large place like huge grounds or performing halls sings praises of Goddess Devi Maa and play Dhandiya with charm and zeal.

The other celebrations include the Sreevari Brahmotsavaalu at Tirupthi, The Samhaaram procession of Annai Paraasakti at TamilNadu and the famous Tiger Dance on the streets of Mangalore.

Dasara for knowledge:

Dasara also marks the journey towards knowledge and wisdom from ignorance and darkness. The 7^th day marks the Sapthami which is for Saraswathi Pooja wherein students offer prayers to Goddess Saraswathi, the Knowledge deity. Vijayadashami, the 10^th is the day when people take blessings from their Gurus and elders for a better life and seek their guidance for a life filled with truth and wisdom. The leaves of the Shami tree is exchanged symbolizing the seeking of forgiveness and making way for a better tomorrow which promises happiness and harmony.

Just like a sumptuous platter of food, India is a land filled with diverse cultures and traditions with a distinct name attached to each. All with a story and legacy of its own, we Indians are experts in enjoying and embracing this divergent customs and beliefs, live together with peace and harmony in this big country making it an actual “Motherland”. We all are the children of this proud mother who never distinguishes among the children by giving less and more to some. The resources, the rich beauty and the vast cultural heritage is the same no matter where we wander at our Pretty Peninsula.

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