Really HAPPY HOLI in USA

So for beginners, here's link to my last two blogs on/for Holi...

Happy Holi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
बुरा ना मानो होली है... HAPPY HOLI!!!!

So now you know what I am talking about.. This holi was different. The most Holi I have ever celebrated in USA. I mean I actually celebrated holi. I played with colors, had Indian food & sweets, had fun with some of my friends & loved ones (ofcourse my parents & sister & friends from India were not there, which is really sad & it sucks... but this is the best it could get). This was not a Desi Party with one Punjabi song (mostly, Mundia tu bach ke rai) playing after every 10 songs & half the ppl doing what they do best; get drunk & dance, or something like that (dunno if you can call it dance mostly).... This was real HOLI celebrations at ISKCON DC. Yes, this was a very decent & nice version of holi, with old people & kids as well with youngsters & adults. But it was Nice, I am Happy. So Happy Holi to me, my parents & sister, my loved ones & everyone!!

(more details might come if I feel like it, or else.... :)

Happy Holi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well.. Holi sucks, if you are celebrating (or I should say having/bearing/watever) it in US. What did I do?? Slept at 8 in morning and almost slept till 7 in evening (except LATE lunch in afternoon. Americans can have dinner by that time) and then went to my Taekwondo class really sleepy & tired (2 lessons learnt; too much sleeping doesn't relaxes you but makes you tired; and do not go to a taekwondo/martial-arts class when you are sleepy). Went back home & decided to treat myself with good food atleast, so made mutter-paneer with aaloo-paratha, raita and kheer as well (well most of it was ready to eat or ready-mix). And then went to bed...... What was different? Well, it's very different in India, here it goes... 

Wake up by 8-9 in morning and be READY, for Holi. Means, put on old clothes.. & hey I put lot of oil on all my body so color can't stick to me. And then I apply lot of different colors on my face in advance to make sure it looks multicolor and nice (people usually just put red or green, i like lot of color and good combination/decoration of my face!!). Gujhiya & sweets are ready at home so eat some awesome sweets and then get ready for going out round. Call a friend or two or three or four or even MORE.... go to people's houses and color them with abeer/gulaal (powdered color) and enjoy sweets at there home too, afterall everyone has different taste (no calorie counting please, just enjoy!!). By late afternoon you are filled, with color on outside & food on inside; which means you had lots of FUN!!!!! The washing/bathing process takes TIME, sometimes detergent soaps are needed to clean it. But if you really had fun, the fun lasts; which means the color lasts on your body for couple of days proving you really had FUN!! So that's Holi in India. Anyways, for those who do not know anything about holi or the religious aspect of it, here's a video of the Prehlaad-Holika story. And the most famous Holi song ever..... HOLI HAI!!!!!

बुरा ना मानो होली है... HAPPY HOLI!!!!

I really just love Holi and being home this Holi was great. Last year I was in DC and was really disappointed that nothing haapened all day on holi (we didn't even have an off ofcourse, US should have Holi as a holiday). However I went to a holi party in evening at a desi club which was fun. To see that same Indian flavor of music, dance & mast people was awesome. The usual guys dancing lunatically in groups, throwing colors & celebrating was cool to see (and in Indian style, the girls were either dancing with their partners only or just chatting in a corner). There were few americans as well & they were enjoying it too. Maybe it was not as good as my Indian Holi celebrations but it was lots of FUN. I remember my days as a kid when we used to celebrate holi in our Airforce Camp. the whole place is a family & we used to celebrate all day by making a group of our friends & visiting every home to play holi & eat nice sweets. Also we used to hide on roof-tops or terrace & throw colors or water balloon on people walking by (once an uncle got angry & came to roof chasing us, all of us had fled away except one of our friend & the uncle put hm in a water tank). That was awesome holi & I really miss that. Then we came to Delhi which is different but I still managed to catch some of my friends & try to celebrate with whatever few people I knew around. And that also has been nice. I did miss that last year so tried to do it this year; I also spent the remaining half of my day afternoon in Fun n Food water park with friends (its damn expensive though for a small water park, 450 bucks. And that too you have to pay 50 bucks more for a stag entry, thats really nice way of making money in India. either come as a couple & pay for your girl or just pay more as a punishment for being single). I also hurt my right shoulder/neck & left foot on a slide which is still in pain, but it was really lots of FUN!!!

I also consider holi as a day when you forget all enemies & woes to make friends and spread love. I had this nice friend in college whom I fought with & were not friends for almost an year, but holi came & we became the same cool friends forgetting all useless crap. That's the true spirit of Holi. And the next important thing is SWEETS: gujhiya, gulab-jamun, dahi-vada & lots of other awesome stuff (just forget the calories & say YUM. I almost lost one pack of my new found 2 pack due to holi sweets, the target is still 6 pack!!). My mom is definitely the best cook & best person in this world, whatever she makes is just awesome (me too!!)!! This holi was really an awesome experience, lets see what comes in future now. Anyways boys n girls and dear friends, that's it for now. Please keep blogging & keep reading my blogs (do COMMENT to let me know of your views too). This is RAHUL again saying, Good Bye & Good Luck... JAI HO!!!!!