Chapter 13: chapter 13

Holi is an important event for the people of Chaibasa. It is celebrated with great pomp and show. The typical food of the day is dahi bhalla, Kheer, pakoras and malpuas. From morning till afternoon people play with wet colours. Scores of people, young and adults are seen spraying colours at each other. All the walls are smeared with yellow, green, orange, blue and purple water. Young boys get on private wagons wherein loud music is played on loudspeakers supported by the shrill sounds of laughter and jubilation to rejoice at the festival. The colourful wigs and hats are especially worn to commemorate the auspicious occasion.These wagons move carelessly across the streets unmindful of the crowd around carrying intoxicated youth. My neighbourhood also acquires a different look. Some of them build temporary tents on their rooftops to relish the festive mood amidst the chaos and noise of music. Bollywood Holi songs reverberate in the air rendering the atmosphere joyous. Not only men, women too like to enjoy among their friend circle. They do all the lavish cooking a day before so that they could be a part of the colour-splashing ritual.Generally, the afternoon is spent washing and bathing to discard the adamant colour which gets stuck to the skin and clothes. That can be considered as the aftermath of the celebration. In the evening people follow an incredibly pious ritual known as the 'Aabir'. My younger son always pronounces it as 'Kabir' because he is not particular about his Hindi pronunciation. I have attempted to check with him but he continues to repeat the aforementioned.The younger generation of the family touches the feet of the older members by applying dry colour 'abir' on their feet. The elders bless them praying for their health and prosperity applying a tikka on the forehead with the same dry colour. This tradition is a mark of respect for the elderly. The friends of my kids throng around my house to take our blessings in like manner. All of them walk hand in hand with a packet of dry-coloured powder and go from house to house for the 'abir ceremony' to seek the blessings of everyone older than them. They get to eat different delicacies prepared in the houses as nobody leaves them without feeding them something. My sons come home with their tummies full. As there were some government relaxations due to the pandemic situation, my father-in-law was able to procure cold drinks, grapes and apples from the market. He seated my elder son in his scooter and accompanied him to the market to buy him whatever he wanted. My sons are very weak at this, they never demand anything from anyone except me. My father-in-law purchased a big bottle of Pepsi knowing his preference. He forgot to bring sweets. Any celebration without sweets is like eating a saltless meal. In the afternoon, when I was taking a little respite from work, he stealthily slipped out of the house in his Scotty to buy sweets. He returned with a big box full of sweets. I don't know whether he had a propensity that this would be his last Holi or so, he was being so generous and particular in his deeds. In the evening, my father-in-law's cousin brother whom my sons call 'choote dadaji' arrived to seek his 'abir' blessings. Out of all his relatives, this cousin is the only one to report on our premises to touch his feet smearing a pinch of colour reverentially. He does the same with my mother-in-law also. My father-in-law happily dressed himself to receive the guest of the day. A sparkle of joy emanated from his countenance like never before on seeing his brother. A subtle smile radiated from his lips. He was looking stupendous with that bright smile on his stern face. His milky white shade transformed into a reddish tint. He seemed so happy, sounding something unusual to me.