Where We Be
| Holi is one festival we'll never forget. Turns out the cheap white shirts we bought were a good investment! |
| This kid had so much fun seeing his photo he decided to get blue foam sprayed all over him before posing again! |
| These kids specialized in pink |
| Our little group of Canadians, Americans, and Aussies had a great time partying with the locals |
| Joe Cool with an Indian flair |
| Tthe locals -- even kids -- showed great restraint in "blessing" you with colored powder unless you said yes. But as soon as you said yes their faces would light up and they'd smear you with it. |
| There are some travel experiences you just know you'll never forget |
| That's the Robin smile I love! Pure joy! |
| Posing with our new Canadian friends who got us into this whole mess in the first place! |
| Robin's initial covering was all-green -- the Martian look! |
| Mine was mostly yellow. It wasn't until we headed out onto the streets that we obtained our multi-hued look. |
| O Holi night! We strolled through town on the evening before Holi -- before all the bonfires and night-long festivities got underway. |
| Kids all wanted to have their pictures taken and we were happy to oblige |
| Just about time for a shower |
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| Holi Festival -- Agra, India |
To be honest we have little idea what the
deeper significance of Holi is. We know it's a
Hindu festival that celebrates spring, but
beyond that all we know is its outer trappings,
which involve paint -- lots of paint!
We met two Canadians returning to our hostel
laughing and covered with smears of paint on
their faces and clothes. They said they'd been
out on the town partying with the locals and it
had been a blast. Robin asked if she could take
their picture and they said, “Hey, we have paint,
why don't you have a picture with us?” Okay!
They put a little dab of colored powder on
Robin’s forehead and cheeks. Their Indian tour
guide shook his head in mock dismay and said,
“That’s not how you do Holi.” He took a large
amount of dry green pigment in his hand, told
Robin, “Close your eyes and hold your breath,”
and proceeded to smear a whole handful of it
all over her face! She looked like a Martian! I
walked up intending to take Robin’s picture and
the guide said, “Do you want to play Holi too?” I
said sure and the next thing I knew I had yellow
powder smeared all over my face and clothes.
Now that we were "initiated" we headed out on
the town. Everywhere we went locals smiled
and called out Happy Holi! Clearly they enjoyed
seeing us tourists participating in Holi as much
as we were enjoying being a part of things.
deeper significance of Holi is. We know it's a
Hindu festival that celebrates spring, but
beyond that all we know is its outer trappings,
which involve paint -- lots of paint!
We met two Canadians returning to our hostel
laughing and covered with smears of paint on
their faces and clothes. They said they'd been
out on the town partying with the locals and it
had been a blast. Robin asked if she could take
their picture and they said, “Hey, we have paint,
why don't you have a picture with us?” Okay!
They put a little dab of colored powder on
Robin’s forehead and cheeks. Their Indian tour
guide shook his head in mock dismay and said,
“That’s not how you do Holi.” He took a large
amount of dry green pigment in his hand, told
Robin, “Close your eyes and hold your breath,”
and proceeded to smear a whole handful of it
all over her face! She looked like a Martian! I
walked up intending to take Robin’s picture and
the guide said, “Do you want to play Holi too?” I
said sure and the next thing I knew I had yellow
powder smeared all over my face and clothes.
Now that we were "initiated" we headed out on
the town. Everywhere we went locals smiled
and called out Happy Holi! Clearly they enjoyed
seeing us tourists participating in Holi as much
as we were enjoying being a part of things.
| All of this happened with the backdrop of the Taj Mahal no less! |