This year too I had loads of fun on Holi. It is one of those festivals I wait for the entire year. Its sheer colourfulness reminds you of the fact that life too is full of vivid colours and is meant to be celebrated. The season chosen is perfect too-spring, with all those clourful flowers around you, it’s just so beautiful.

However, over the years I have seen people don’t really seem to understand the importance of festivals. They find it “cool” to just shun it off by saying “holi! Ah too messy, all those colors and water, I can’t take it” or “Diwali! Nothing much, it’s just too boring”.  Festivals have become just another holiday for most of us, where you just laze around, eat, go to a mall, shop or watch movies.

It really surprises me, when the same lot doesn’t mind getting wet in a rain dance party and actually will look forward to it. They find the “tomato throwing tradition somewhere in Spain very cool but playing with colours in their own country is very low standard or just not in. Perhaps only if a Madonna or a Paris Hilton played Holi or celebrated Diwali

It would have inspired these people to follow their own tradition. A good example is –yoga. Until a few years ago practicing yoga was just too below standard and was meant for the oldies but Voila!! Madonna does it and we rediscover our own practice and now find it really beneficial for all and a must do as it is the in thing.

I am not in favour of forcibly playing with someone or using toxic colours, but Holi is certainly not the way people project it to be.  It can be and is played with good colours in a decent manner and can be a lot of fun.

It’s not about criticizing the western culture or any for that matter. It’s about how we are loosing touch with reality and not understanding the essence of life. If its fun to celebrate valentine’s day and some.. Rose day how can Holi, Rakhi, ID Diwali not be as much fun and especially when all these festivals have a meaning and purpose around them.

I agree sometimes, the rituals become a little too much to follow but that’s upon each individual to decide.

I guess like everything else today we want everything around us to be instant and hassle –free. It even sadly applies to celebrating festivals. Mithais have been replaced my cookies, chocolates, cakes and soft drinks. How absurd and weird is that. It irritates me to see these things being offered on festivals, the reason given is that mithais are too fattening!! I wonder since when did chocolates, cakes and coke become health food and a substitute for mithais.

This is what I call aping the west. It is sad too see how we have willing victimized ourselves and I wont be surprised if in the next 50 years or so people will only read about these festivals in history books.