Its the birthday of the most loved god to have adorned our planet, the naughty and mischievous Lord Krishna ! Until a few minutes ago, celebrations were in full swing in our hostel . There was music blasting away . Although it bummed me to be sitting here typing away and not being in the thick of it downstairs, I couldn't help but use this time to say this....
Students came out in droves today, ready to let others stand on their shoulders, unified under the single aim of reaching the 'handi' that symbolizes the favourite snack of the beloved Krishna. This entire ritual is a recreation of how His buddies helped Him steal the jar of butter when Yashoda wasn't around.
There was water , mud and colour everywhere, there were people everywhere-standing on top of each other, falling, cheering. No one cared about the soiled clothes, the scratches from falling again and again, broken spectacles were cast aside, bruises dusted , friends patted on the back for trying again after falling flat into the ground.
They kept falling and kept coming back. And the cheer kept getting louder each time. It was a strange sense of unity, even those dousing water buckets on the 'gwalas' trying to get at the 'dahi-handi' did not seem like the other side, they cheered the loudest when the 'handi' was finally reached and broken.
Its strange how my mind felt peaceful watching them like this, when people around you are happy it rubs off on you. This was one moment where there was no animosity towards the one trying to make you fall, they were a part of your celebration when you finally succeeded. Maybe such rituals exist to remind us that no matter what the situation is , if we approach it together we can extract the best out of it and be happy in the process. I have always been a sucker for unity and watching people being merry together is the most beautiful sight in the world. I wish Syria and The United States could have a 'dahi-handi' festival !!
Cheers !
Students came out in droves today, ready to let others stand on their shoulders, unified under the single aim of reaching the 'handi' that symbolizes the favourite snack of the beloved Krishna. This entire ritual is a recreation of how His buddies helped Him steal the jar of butter when Yashoda wasn't around.
There was water , mud and colour everywhere, there were people everywhere-standing on top of each other, falling, cheering. No one cared about the soiled clothes, the scratches from falling again and again, broken spectacles were cast aside, bruises dusted , friends patted on the back for trying again after falling flat into the ground.
They kept falling and kept coming back. And the cheer kept getting louder each time. It was a strange sense of unity, even those dousing water buckets on the 'gwalas' trying to get at the 'dahi-handi' did not seem like the other side, they cheered the loudest when the 'handi' was finally reached and broken.
Its strange how my mind felt peaceful watching them like this, when people around you are happy it rubs off on you. This was one moment where there was no animosity towards the one trying to make you fall, they were a part of your celebration when you finally succeeded. Maybe such rituals exist to remind us that no matter what the situation is , if we approach it together we can extract the best out of it and be happy in the process. I have always been a sucker for unity and watching people being merry together is the most beautiful sight in the world. I wish Syria and The United States could have a 'dahi-handi' festival !!
Cheers !
Happy janmashtmi.being away from home at festival times sucks.. but this whole depiction reminded me of all those wonderful past times..
ReplyDeleteAlso u always bring some social issue in your writing. Thats the best part of it...
Looking forward for more posts.
well said (y)
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