My friends had recently asked me the way I celebrate Holi. To this, my answer was- "by locking myself in the bathroom." They laughed all right, but then started interrogating me on the reason I boycott such a colorful festival. Somebody even mildly suggested a childhood break-up on that day :D
True to my nature, I first pointed out the error in their question: there isn't just one reason. There are 'reasons' which I did mention, but everyone started rolling their eyes in amusement and said these reasons are implausible. However, nothing made my reasons more valid than the observations I took on my recent trip to the Land of Mutton- Keonjhar.
1) Got on the Puri-Barbil Intercity at 7:45AM. It was on time, but 24 hours late :D The trains's run was cancelled for the previous day. The humor of the irony certainly seemed lost on the passengers who had to spend an entire day (and night) on the platform. So when the train finally rolled, their aggression- which had been steadily building up till now- vented out in an amazingly unrestrained manner.
And the language- Oh boy... pure honey. In fact, my 'swear' vocabulary was enriched immensely by just two minutes of listening. There was one extremely innovative curse involving the father of the driver that I will take to my pyre :D
2) During the journey, the train passed over a bridge with a group of people standing below and rubbing colors on one another's heads. From a top-view, their heads looked like a bunch of Cadbury's Gems- red, green, orange, blue... I mean, who needs Habib's when you can get such gloriously dyed hair with only a fistful of color?
3) By the time I reached Keonjhar, things were already warming up; or shall I say- coloring up. I could see people lining up at garages, emptying discarded Mobil oil into buckets, mixing it up with wall-paint and then sucking it up their color pumps. I said a silent prayer for the guys whose hair is going to go through this litmus lest :)
4) It was 2:40 by the time I checked in the hotel (Reason? Standard Indian Railway Delay! What else?) For the next two hours, I hid in my room and silently braved out the alien voices shouting outside. After some time, I dared to venture out.
For the first few minutes, I thought I had walked in to Zombietown. Everyone was walking like a zombie, staring like a zombie, dressed like a zombie, and of course- how can I forget the obvious- LOOKED LIKE A FUCKING ZOMBIE!
And the hotel: Paradise on earth. But then, wait- you haven't stepped in to the restaurant yet, have you? It's one of those eateries where you order a Mixed Vegetable Korma, only to realize that their definition of "mixed vegetable" is potatoes, onions... and chilly.
Donald Trump had once said- "To be a successful salesman, you need to be a dragon; breathing fire through the nostrils, with ass cool as ice." Well, Donald Trump hadn't clearly dined in this restaurant, coz if he had, he would have realized he had gotten the exits all wrong!
Two spoonfuls in, my nostrils were streaming with water, and the southern end of my body felt like the inside of a flame-thrower! By the time the meal was over, I was sure I had reincarnated. There's no way I could have survived that onslaught. In fact, I was ready to change my name from Vineet to "Chhedi-laal" 3:D
This is where the "gems-headed" guys were last spotted.
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| Latest pictures of Keonjhar. |
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| Latest pictures of Keonjhar. |
Would you believe such greenery? Every tree has leaves of a different hue than the others. It's as if the entire forest was playing Holi
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| Latest pictures of Keonjhar. The greenest of trees in entire Odisha. |
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| Latest pictures of Keonjhar. |
A market complex overlooking my hotel
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| Latest pictures of Keonjhar. |
Model of silence and peace. An encapsulated view of life in Keonjhar. House, DTH, vehicle, trees.
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| Latest pictures of Keonjhar |
He still doesn't know what hit him. My colleague pacing up and down the room, in front of the loo after the epic "mixed veg" chapter :)
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| Latest pictures of Keonjhar |