E
very year as the month of March
approaches, my heart starts to swell
with excitement, for with this month
comes my year-long hope of being there
in Vrindavan once again for the festival of
Holi. Though, since the last 7-years of my
life, I have been celebrating the festival in
the bewitching streets of Vrindavan, but
still, there is something that keeps enticing
me to this place. I don’t know whether it’s
the place, or the people or the temples or
the sound of ‘Radhe Radhe’ which lures me
to be there every year.
temple which is colloquial for its Hare
Krishna movement all around the globe.
After the Puja, I took some rest and then
headed towards Shri Banke Bihari temple.
As the temple got nearer, the narrow
streets of the Vrindavan got jammed by
the swarms of devotees. This temple is the
heart of Vrindavan; and if you are there and
didn’t go to this temple, your visit would
always remain incomplete and you would
not get the blessings of the lord.
Devotees from all around the globe come
Amit Nimade
Bhopal, India
Rahul Batra RB
[email protected]
Rahul is a culture
based writer who left
his engineering job
to pursue a career in
writing. He wishes to
write a psychological
bestseller one day.
I eagerly wait for the Holi festival every year
to celebrate it in the streets of Vrindavan
and the memories of this festival remain
always fresh in my mind throughout the
year. Vrindavan is a place where, I believe,
people lose their heart in the divine beauty
of the place and its enchanting streets, but
find a connection within their soul.
This year, I reached there a day before
the main Holi festival (also known as
Dhulandi) and my Holi started at 4.30 am
with an ‘early morning Puja’ at the ISKCON
here to celebrate Holi with Lord Krishna
himself. Inside the temple, the priests throw
colors and holy water from their pichkaris
(water guns) and the crowd chants ‘Radhe
Radhe’ in unison. In this very same temple,
just a few days before the Holi, flower petals
are showered over the devotees to celebrate
a unique Phoolon wali Holi (Flowers’ Holi)
without the conventional dry or wet colors.
People were awestruck by the divine beauty
of the moment and were celebrating as
if it was their first Holi. From every nook
& corner of the temple, only one sound –
Radhe Radhe - was audible. And believe
me, had the police and security personnel
were not in action, nobody would have left.
After somehow managing to get out
of the temple, I headed towards Radha
Vallabh temple. In this very same temple,
2-days before the Holi, widows gather and
celebrate Holi with the lord. Holy water
from huge water guns is sprayed in the air
which gives a feeling as if the lord is himself
showering his blessings over his admirers.
Holi festival also comes as a treat to the
photographers. For the colors and the joy of
happiness is so enticing that they can’t stop
themselves from picking up their lenses and
getting out on the streets drenched with
vibrant emotions. All around Vrindavan,
I could see photographers from around
the world, trying to capture some of these
enthralling moments.
After
that,
I
moved towards
ISKCON temple
which is a very
famous
tourist
hotspot and for
the same reason,
it is also called
angrejo ka mandir
(or the temple
of
foreigners).
The music, the
dance and the
tranquilizing
sound of ‘Hare
Krishna
Hare
Krishna, Krishna
Krishna
Hare
Hare’ are what
exactly
defines
this temple.
One
of
the
defining moments
of this year’s Holi
was when I saw
3 boys disguised
A Child’s Play
Nikon D750 44mm F/8 1/320s ISO560
in the form of
female (or Radha’s friends), playing kikli,
and frolicking in the Lord’s name. The
genuine smiles on their faces (which rather
signified their devotion towards the Lord)
gave a jaw-dropping view which left me
wondering whether the lord was visible
to them. Some things are meant only to
observe and you can’t give words to them,
such was that feeling.
The dance which these boys were
performing is traditionally known as Raas
Leela – the dance of passion - depicting the
life of Lord Krishna and, his beloved, Radha;
and how their love painted this world in
the colorful essence of togetherness and
belonging.
This very moment reminded me of the first
time when I was there in the temple as an
atheist. I could easily recall the scenario
where an old man of around 70 was