Vishal and Munil

I got a taxi to the airport and flew to Jodhpur where I was met by Vishal and his young son Munil.  Wow, it’s great to see old friends.  We loaded up his car and he took me to a restaurant for coffee.

Vishal took me to my hotel to book in and I was so happy to be back at the Om Heritage.  It is in the old city, and close to the Clock Tower.  We visited two temples – remember, this was Holi Festival time - and had Lassi at the Clock Tower (I had 2 of course).

Next stop, Vishal’s family home and as always, I received the warmest welcome.  This was the first day of Holi, and preparations for the huge fire had been made.  Dried cow dung is used which is fantastic for burning.  The man who rescues the big branch from the flames is said to be the next man to get married (time will tell how true this is).  As the flames get bigger and hotter, everyone takes a turn walking around the fire – I made it 7 times around even though I felt like I was being roasted on a spit.  The fire gets seriously hot – I have NEVER experienced heat that intense before.

The atmosphere is so exhilarating and hopeful, yes, I think hopeful is the best way to describe how it made me feel.  Unlike my neighbourhood where everyone “knows” each other, but we keep to ourselves, this community is like one big family – I left the “happy” out, because the older I’ve got, the more I’ve come to realise that families are complicated and not always happy.  Nevertheless, being a part of a family, regardless of who that family is, can be a wonderful thing.

Gorgeous colourful paint to play Holi

Day two of Holi Festival is completely and utterly manic.  You either stay at home with the door closed or go out and join in the festivities.  I, of course, joined in.  Vishal and his family fetched me, and we drove up to the fort to see if they were playing Holi.  No luck there, so we drove back to the old city and proceeded to walk around throwing paint, and having paint thrown at us.  I was smiling and laughing so much that I got quite a few mouths full of paint.  The energy is infectious, and I felt like I was floating on a wonderful happy cloud.  We walked past a restaurant that I recognised, and I’d no sooner told Vishal that I was sure that the restaurant was owned by Manish than I heard “It’s madam…..madam!”, and turned around to see Manish approaching me.  I mean seriously, I would never in a million years have thought it possible that I would bump into an acquaintance in India, in the middle of all that madness.

I feel like words are inadequate when it comes to something as crazy, wonderful, mad, amazing, overwhelming......(you get the idea), as playing Holi.  I think I'll let the photo's and video's do the talking here.  I must say however that if you really want to know what it feels like, there is nothing better than experiencing it first hand.  I also got the feeling this year that everyone was celebrating in a more over-the-top way than usual (if that's possible in India) because of the looming threat of Corona virus.

At the fort hoping to play Holi

When we’d had our fill of the Holi craziness, we went back to Vishal’s home and started to come down a little from the high.  I was lulled by the singing of the ladies in the house, as they sat together singing traditional songs about Holi and Krishna (if this is incorrect, I’m sure Vishal will correct me).  It was wonderful to see one generation pass down their knowledge to another – Vishal’s wife took notes from one of the older generation who had her own notebook.  I felt like I was watching something truly special.  Of course, we also danced and laughed.

Vishal found out that my birthday was the next day, and in front of me, they planned a special surprise (yeah, I don’t speak Hindi).  I had to close my eyes and was led into the next room where, upon opening them, I saw a cake with my name on it.  Wow, I nearly burst into tears – what a wonderful surprise.

All too soon it was time to go back to the hotel where I showered and tried in vain to get the colour from the Holi festival out of my skin and hair….c’est la vie.  I packed so that I could take on the next part of my journey.