Bura Na Mano Holi Hai

 "Bura Na Mano Holi Hai!" Holi is such a unique and colourful festival that irrespective age, caste, creed or colour, people can enjoy it to the fullest. The fact that it is celebrated during the Spring season signifies the colourful splendour of mother nature herself as though enticing not just humans but  all beings to join in this cosmic celebration. The micro and macrocosm all merge into this unique dimension when the universe itself is in a playful and joyous mood. Naturally all the fun and frolic may or may not amuse all and sundry, so before one commences operation, the statutory warning is issued, "Bura Na Mano Holi Hai!"

In our near six decades of existence on this planet, we have had myriad types of Holi being celebrated, with parents and siblings, with relations, with friends, with colleagues, with spouse and then with kids and now we are back, where we embarked on this journey in Indore, my hometown. While each Holi brings back memories but the most memorable ones were in the academies with friends. While in RIMC Holi was celebrated with the traditional Mandir parade followed by Holi with the masters, restricted to just application of gulaal and lots of sweets, in NDA, there was nothing official about the celebrations. In hindsight that was a wise decision as the Divisional Officers and Squadron Commanders would have been at the receiving end with all the cadets relishing the mere thought of immersing them with all kinds of colours. So naturally when the cats are away mice play the dirtiest Holi. We were in our second term, not sure how the even would unfold, two of us got ourselves locked in our room with some help from the orderly who got a princely sum of 11 Rs for this deed. We were quietly enjoying the scene which was unfolding in the battalion area, where some of the initiative type  sergeants were being targeted by the third and fourth termers. Invariably the modus operandi was quite identical, get hold of the senior, in this case he was notorious for collecting Identity slips by hundreds on a daily basis for any and every conceivable misdemeanours, committed or imagined to have been committed. At first, the victim tried to plead his case, but the Sergeant was a fastidious one, one couldn't please him any which way. We later got to know that the Identity slips which we all carried by the dozens played which he collected played a major part in his winning the coveted Maths book prize. He used these slips as one side paper to practise Analysis on them. But that realisation dawned on us much later when we realised that the I slip that he picked up did not end up in the form of a punishment in the Battalion Routine Orders of the day.

 Anyway so getting back to the Holi celebrations,  in the first phase he was chased and caught hold off, then  his clothes were torn away, thereafter he was plastered  with all the colours which were available then when he thought that the worst was over, he was dumped in the mud pit where the paste was generously applied everywhere till he gave up the struggle and resigned himself to his fate. Having gone through this with almost a score of cadets piling on him from every possible angle, he was in no state to resist and surrendered. 

The wiser ones amongst the senior lot normally took off for a long run early morning spending time in the hills till the evening rather than risk this misadventure. 

Our luck ran out soon as someone spotted us from down there and then the door and locks are no barriers for determined Holi-mongers, the wire-mesh which was normally our heavenly abode, as we were assigned to seventh heaven quite often, was smashed. I will deviate a little to explain the concept of this stint in heaven that all NDA cadets had to endure. The wire mesh, as I am sure the reader can visualise has number of wires crisscrossing symmetrically which adorns all the cabins on top of the doors, designed so thoughtfully  for ventilation and light. But we were normally found hanging on to the seventh strand of this mesh for our dear lives resting on our fingers alone. Shaolin has some unique methods of toughening up and strengthening the muscles, as we have watched these movies demonstrate in ample measure. They can take a leaf out of the NDA methods  too as our fingers learn to hold our body weight for hours together as any fall from this heaven did not land us in the Garden of Eden, instead we were rewarded with a kick in our royal derriere to be perched back on top.

So the mesh gave way and we were hauled out straight into the same pit and received the very same treatment. The only difference was we had given up right at the outset, so they did not enjoy inflicting the pain, as unless you resist, half the fun is lost.

Subsequent years we were wiser and stayed away from the celebrations. But the mud bath was therapeutic no doubt as it cleared all our misgivings as  our bodies were being manhandled. Now that is the closest one can be to the stage of nirvana as our soul literally was reduced to becoming an observer! Bura na mano Holi Hai!