!!!HOLI HAI!!!

the festival of colour beckons and i am so looking forward to celebrating it with my family..well my mom dad are in gujarat while my brother is in bombay..but i will be at my maternal grandmothers' and have a whole lot of cousins who don't let me miss anyone too much :)

but i'll miss my brother...he's always been very enthusiastic about all the festivals....when we were kids he'd wake up early morning..before anyone else in the house to fill gubbaras (water balloons)!! he loved doing that and hitting everyone with them gave him such joy! he's always had a naughty streak in him. my dad would make amazing shammi kababs ooooh being a kid was so much fun :/ :)

so i have made a list of sorts of the essential things you must do to liven up the holi celebrations:
1.

Eat and share lots of Gujiya, it is like a pastry thats filled with khoya, nuts, sometimes coconut (the naughty ones fill it with a little bit of bhang) and sugar deep fried and then dipped in sugar syrup, yummy! even though gujiyas were not a big part of holi for me as a kid it is a very UP thing and not so Punjabi i guess:), but i love them and cannot stop after eating just one!

2.
buy lots of Gulal. gulal is the dry colour which is sprinkled on one another to play holi. organic/herbal gulal is always a better option as it is skin and earth friendly! learn how to make some at home here.

3. get your hands on that Pichkari(water gun) now!

i prefer the old steel ones, like the picture above, to the new chinese plastic guns. the steel ones can be used again next year while the plastic ones usually get spoilt. the water come out with more pressure in the steel ones too and travels a great distance:)

4. fill those buckets with gubbare....what fun!5. must play Rang Barse song from the movie silsila. i love that song so much! listen to it right here .

6. make lots of thandai.. i am having lots of fun already.

7. don't forget to oil yourself properly (face and hair). it doesn't let the colour get absorbed and so makes that painful post holi bath easy.

8. buy some holi art. i love miniature paintings. the perspectives the details and intricate design the colours and themes the gossamer fabrics and costumes the size. help preserve this dyeing art and buy some today. this art comes from various parts of india and largly draw themes from the mughals, radhe krishna, rajputs and ramayana. kangra school of pahari paintings is among the more famous.

some holi inspired miniatures.
miniature painting showing Lord Krishna and Radha celebrating the festival of Holi!
this painting is from Orissa, again showing Radha and Krishna playing Holi.

i hope you have enjoyed my list. please do share your holi experience and let me know if i have missed out on a holi must do!

have a fun filled holi!