Anatomy of a Color Fight

As I write this, in village and cities all across India, merrymakers are preparing to celebrate the festival of colors, known as Holi. At first glance, the average American might think it's kind of a goofy holiday where you throw colored powder on one another. I'd offer that it's no goofier than something like Halloween, where if you look at it through a foreigners eyes is comprised of dressing our children up in costumes and sending them out unattended (at least in my day) to beg for candy by ringing the doorbells of strangers.

As an experienced repat, there are certain triggers that make me miss my adopted home. For me, a primary trigger seems to be holidays. I regret never experiencing a true Holi, one out in an "unprotected" area where you're likely the primary target of who knows what being thrown on you. Probably not the safest of situations, but a regret nonetheless.

Regardless, to administer a little self-therapy, I was looking through last year's pictured from our "protected" Holi celebration at Manvar resort, halfway between Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. If you've ever been curious how people get "colored" during the celebration, this series of shots will help explain (though there wasn't water involved so the end result was nowhere what you might see in an "unprotected" celebration.

Happy Holi!