Holi Aayee Re!

It was a dry, sunny morning. But a gentle breeze reminded us that it is not summer yet. Holi, the festival of spring, is round the corner. And Srichand Arora has lined up a little celebration for us in the Garden this Sunday.
Before him, Santosh Tyagi will be treating us to home-brewed kunji on Saturday. This sourish concoction of fermented carrots, beetroot and mustard seed has been a traditional drink on Holi in northern India. She wanted to bring it on Sunday, but Arora had already arranged for thandai (another Holi drink, but sweet). In effect, we shall be having a double Holi celebration this week-end.
Dilip Babani has been entrusted with getting dry colours (there’ll be no wet dyes and war paint) while brother Kishor and Arora-sah’b would be organizing the snacks and light refreshments. Nothing very elaborate, but the idea of letting our hair down together and celebrating in a spirit of joie de vivre is all that matters.
There’s some talk of getting bhang (a mild preparation of cannabis) as well, but nobody is quite sure about trying it. In case it does come into play and bhang gets mixed with thandai (as is done on Holi), it could be a huge game changer for our celebration. The very thought of how we would start behaving under its influence can be mind blowing!
Meanwhile, there’s news from Razia Khan (above, left) who was running high fever during the picnic last Sunday. Turns out that she had also developed rashes on her skin – presumably, due to prolonged exposure in the sun – and has been under medication since. She needs to recover fast as there’s a 22-hour journey ahead of her, to San Francisco on Monday, March 21. Before leaving, she promises to drop by to say her goodbyes.
Another member, Kiran Sajjan (right) is back from her holiday at Raniganj – the town in West Bengal she hails from. A part of her family still stays there. With her around, the demand for movie outings will be revived. The lady is a known movie buff and rarely misses a new release, especially if it is a comedy. Besides, we haven’t gone for a movie from the Club since Hum Dono. That was on February 5, 2011.
Dilip Babani says:
Holi is the day when everbody meets and puts colours on one another. We eat garam-garam samosas, doklas and chewra and drink cold thandai. Everybody is happy. Boys throw balloons filled with water and colours at girls. Girls like it that guys throw water balloons at them. For a full year they wait for Holi so that they can enjoy by getting wet. The guys say, "Bura na mano, Holi hai!"
Young boys and girls make tolis (groups) for Holi. I remember my days when I was very naughty and used to buy one packet of balloons. Filling them with water, we went to the terrace and hit out at the girls. All boys and girls used to go to the terrace and play Holi. Those were our golden days. Anyway, now our age is to have samosa, dokla, chewra and thandai. No more masti-majak. What to do now? There's no Sunita, Asha, Reena, Rita, Rekha...
--Dilip
Harish Wadhwa says:
Hello, I am back in Mumbai but alas, will have to leave for Pune for work. Shall return by Saturday evening. By the way, let us all celebrate Holi the way we are used to. Lets be "boys" for a while and not "men". How about some nice thandai, which Arora-ji used to make each year? Count me in for contribution, if you are planning something. Else, you guys will have to treat me at your homes!
--Harish
The thandai is on, as is the Holi bash on Sunday morning. Be sure you're there. Else, we'll all land up at your place!