I tried to write this post last week but I've been very busy over the past few days trying to help Jeff prepare for the next school year, which will begin on April 25th, a few days after I leave.  But last Wednesday we celebrated Holi, the festival of color.  I'm sure a lot of you have seen pictures of this holiday or even celebrated it yourselves, but it is celebrated quite uniquely.  I forget the purpose of the holiday (this isn't a history lesson, look it up if you must know), as I'm sure many Indians and Nepalis have.  It is kind of like a Halloween or a Mardi Gras, in that the holiday has lost its meaning to many celebrants but is still celebrated with all the fervor one could muster.  It is a no holds barred sort of holiday as well.

How to celebrate:
Step 1- buy multiple colors of tikka (powdered dye).
Step 2- change into clothes you don't mind getting stained.
Step 3-  Keep on your guard.
Step 4-  Pummel friends, family, neighbors, strangers and innocent bystanders with said tikka powder.

It is a blast.  Thank whichever gods fell in love and gave birth to this beautiful holiday.  For Holi we decided to stay out of town and keep a lid on all of the fun as apparently things have been known to get a little violent on occasion.  As you can imagine, getting a fistful of tikka powder in the face from a complete stranger is not going to be the most pleasant thing.  And if you don't have great self control, good humor, or enough patience, things have the potential to go awry.  So we went to the beach (the Bheri River) where we were free to plaster each other with red, green, pink, yellow, and blue.  Let me tell you one thing, it does not taste very good, though I'm pretty sure we all ate some.  I spat pink for hours and I was told the other day I still have some in my ear.  Everyone who partook was colored from head to toe.  Thankfully somebody had the foresight to bring soap and shampoo so we could bathe right there in the river, before the tikka had time to really set in.  Every time Maggie's father washed his face off one of the aunties would run over and throw more tikka in his face.  He eventually gave up trying to wash it off and consequently still has a red tint about his forehead.

I didn't get many pictures from the event because I was afraid to have my camera ruined.  I will try to get some pictures from Ben though and update this post with a few.

Update: just borrowed a bunch of pictures from Ben- here you go.

The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent Blinknow's positions or opinions.