Holi Festival

Eleanor and I after we escaped from the elephant polo field

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Happy Holi!

I am writing to all of you with a technicolored head of hair. After going 21 years without EVER dying my hair; I now have purple, pink, orange, and green locks.

The reason: Holi! Holi, the festival of colors, is celebrated all over India. Originally people played holi with flower petals. It has now shifted over to the brightest powders and paint colors that get thrown, rubbed, and wiped all over everyone. I stayed home and played with my family, which despite the incredible drama, was lots of fun.

The night before Holi, I went down to the elephant polo ground and watched an elephant procession, a game of elephant polo (which is possibly the silliest thing I have ever seen), watched people play holi on elephants, got attacked by the people playing holi on elephants, and then made my escape from the crowds before the the bonfires were lit all throughout the city.

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The day of holi was spent in the front yard of my house battling my sisters, host mother, grandfather, cousins, and friend Eleanor with colors and water. We looked like creatures from Lord of the Rings. My host mother was determined that there should be no white left on any part of my body. So much of my skin is also still dyed purple.

Anyway, it's very hard to describe holi to anyone who isn't here. There's nothing like it in the US. Carnival and Mardi Gras are sort of similar...but not close enough. Everyone here plays...adults go running around spraying each other with color. The entire next day, we saw formally dressed business men walking around with hot pink hair and fingers.

Unfortunately Holi is also a holiday during which men get incredibly drunk, ride around on their mopeds, and look for women to harass. That meant that it we were not able to go downtown to see other people play. After experiencing a number of curious hands while we were at elephant polo, we decided to stick at home the next day.