Rang barse..........
Sahil Kathpal captures the spirit of Holi in the holy city of Vrindavan through the lens and in words
Holi is best played in Vrindavan.” My grandmother’s words kept ringing in my ears as I set for the holy city with my friends to find how the festival of colours is different in the land of Krishna. As the car zipped on the highway, the tale my grandmother narrated to me rang in my mind.
“Lord Krishna had once asked his mother Yashoda as to why was Radha so fair and he dark? Yashoda had answered that if he was feeling so jealous of Radha’s colour then he should go and colour her face with dark shades so that she too turns as dark as him. So as suggested, the young Krishna went ahead and did the same. The tradition of playing with colours has ever since remained in Vrindavan,” I remember her telling me. As our car approached Vrindavan, I noticed a large number of people walking towards the Banke Bihari Temple.
The temple, where Lord Krishna is the presiding deity, is the centre of Holi celebrations in the city. We get down from the car and follow the crowd that is chanting Hare Rama, Hare Krishna with each step. As we come closer to the temple, I notice that the crowd is swelling. The chants grow louder. Looking around, I notice that the devotees full of enthusiasm are carrying packets of flowers petals and colours in their hands. People from all across the country seem to have landed here. I notice some foreigners too, most of them clad in saffron and white. The popularity of Holi celebrations here seem to have spread across the globe, I wonder.
As we reach the temple doors, I notice a vast sea of humanity around. There is no space to even put your foot down. One simply can’t move. Nevertheless, a push here, nudge there and you are a step forward. Once inside the temple premises, I get a feel as if the hard ground over which I was walking till now has given the way to some muddy terrain. Looking down, I realise the floor is covered with flowers and water mixed with colours that is giving such a feel.
The spirit of Holi, coupled with a feeling of tranquility that comes by being in the presence of the divine, keeps me going. As I come closer to the sanctum sanctorum, I notice the statue of the lord is virtually invisible under the pile of flowers. Sensing our predicament, the priests remove the flowers and we get the darshan. The priest then starts throwing flowers and gulal at us. Suddenly, the crowd erupts with chants of prayers. We bow our heads in reverence and offer our prayers too. Outside, the shrine is simmering with bright colours and spirituality, inviting worshippers to indulge in the spirit of the festival........!!!!!!
