Chiiz – Volume 2 2017

E

very year as the month of March
approaches, my heart starts to swell
with excitement, for with this month
comes my year-long hope of being there
in Vrindavan once again for the festival of
Holi. Though, since the last 7-years of my
life, I have been celebrating the festival in
the bewitching streets of Vrindavan, but
still, there is something that keeps enticing
me to this place. I don’t know whether it’s
the place, or the people or the temples or
the sound of ‘Radhe Radhe’ which lures me
to be there every year.

I eagerly wait for the Holi festival every year
to celebrate it in the streets of Vrindavan
and the memories of this festival remain
always fresh in my mind throughout the
year. Vrindavan is a place where, I believe,
people lose their heart in the divine beauty
of the place and its enchanting streets, but
find a connection within their soul.

This year, I reached there a day before
the main Holi festival (also known as
Dhulandi) and my Holi started at 4.30 am
with an ‘early morning Puja’ at the ISKCON

temple which is colloquial for its Hare

Krishna movement all around the globe.

After the Puja, I took some rest and then

headed towards Shri Banke Bihari temple.

As the temple got nearer, the narrow

streets of the Vrindavan got jammed by

the swarms of devotees. This temple is the

heart of Vrindavan; and if you are there and

didn’t go to this temple, your visit would

always remain incomplete and you would

not get the blessings of the lord.

Devotees from all around the globe come

here to celebrate Holi with Lord Krishna

himself. Inside the temple, the priests throw

colors and holy water from their pichkaris

(water guns) and the crowd chants ‘Radhe

Radhe’ in unison. In this very same temple,

just a few days before the Holi, flower petals

are showered over the devotees to celebrate

a unique Phoolon wali Holi (Flowers’ Holi)

without the conventional dry or wet colors.

People were awestruck by the divine beauty

of the moment and were celebrating as

if it was their first Holi. From every nook

& corner of the temple, only one sound –

Radhe Radhe - was audible. And believe

me, had the police and security personnel

were not in action, nobody would have left.

After somehow managing to get out

of the temple, I headed towards Radha

Vallabh temple. In this very same temple,

2-days before the Holi, widows gather and

celebrate Holi with the lord. Holy water

from huge water guns is sprayed in the air

which gives a feeling as if the lord is himself

showering his blessings over his admirers.

Holi festival also comes as a treat to the

photographers. For the colors and the joy of

happiness is so enticing that they can’t stop

themselves from picking up their lenses and

getting out on the streets drenched with

vibrant emotions. All around Vrindavan,

I could see photographers from around

the world, trying to capture some of these

enthralling moments.

After that, I

moved towards

ISKCON temple

which is a very

famous tourist

hotspot and for

the same reason,

it is also called

angrejo ka mandir

(or the temple

of foreigners).

The music, the

dance and the

tranquilizing

sound of ‘Hare

Krishna Hare

Krishna, Krishna

Krishna Hare

Hare’ are what

exactly defines

this temple.

One of the

defining moments

of this year’s Holi

was when I saw

3 boys disguised

in the form of

female (or Radha’s friends), playing kikli,

and frolicking in the Lord’s name. The

genuine smiles on their faces (which rather

signified their devotion towards the Lord)

gave a jaw-dropping view which left me

wondering whether the lord was visible

to them. Some things are meant only to

observe and you can’t give words to them,

such was that feeling.

The dance which these boys were

performing is traditionally known as Raas

Leela – the dance of passion - depicting the

life of Lord Krishna and, his beloved, Radha;

and how their love painted this world in

the colorful essence of togetherness and

belonging.

This very moment reminded me of the first

time when I was there in the temple as an

atheist. I could easily recall the scenario

where an old man of around 70 was

Rahul is a culture

based writer who left

his engineering job

to pursue a career in

writing. He wishes to

write a psychological

bestseller one day.

Rahul Batra RB

[email protected]

A Child’s Play

Nikon D750 44mm F/8 1/320s ISO

Amit Nimade

Bhopal, India