STORIZEN CONTRIBUTE
The Tough Holi
The story of a woman celebrating Holi without Hooliganism
by Lt Col Ankita Srivastava
Holi always scared her. As a newly married young bride, Avantika wasn ' t looking forward to her first Holi at her in-laws place in Lucknow.
A regimented childhood that she spent in Allahabad under her strict father’ s regime thankfully killed her desire to play Holi. Firstly as every March she was studying for her final exams and secondly because her father told her it wasn ' t a safe one for girls.
So every Holi, as a young curious girl she would however peek into the lane from her second story flat windows that were made out of weak wood in that shoe shape white building.
The green wooden window panes would squeak while opening but being on second floor not much was heard from down below.
The day of Holi would begin with total serenity in the surrounding areas.
Even the sky would appear soft, bright light blue as if readying itself as a canvas for the ensuing colour riot of the day.
By 10 am various small and large gang of men and grown up boys, inebriated, dressed in white kurta pajamas would begin to show in those narrow lanes.
Avantika would pull the window pane a bit towards her, lest some rowdy guy looks up and sees a spotless face hanging out. She was told by her neighbors it was an offense to have a spotless face on a Holi in Uttar Pradesh.
She would hide her face behind those panes but her curiosity would let her hang there only.
Hindi movie songs would be blaring loud. The Sridevi song from Himmatwala would repeatedly play in blasting noise. By 10.30 am most boys would be seen dancing on streets. The kids would throng with little or huge pichkaris and water balloons. Teenager boys moved around with pocket full of paint, Greece and even rotten eggs.
Holi in Allahabad would produce some real hooligans. It was a strong catalytic festival; it would convert even the otherwise sober boys into
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