It has been a few days leading up to the Holi. People have been telling me that Holi is the festival of colors. People will pour water and throw colors at each other, especially if I am a foreigner with a nice friendly face. I would get all soaking wet and my face will be all colored. It is the first time for me to learn about this festival. I was a bit nervous since I travelled too light this time and brought only one set of clothes. What am I going to wear the second day? Amandine and Americ, on the other hand, well-prepared and too eager, cannot wait to go out and play. They even rented a hotel room downtown Saturday night so that they could stay right where the action is.
The night before, Nicole, who was really encouraging that I participate in the festival, went up to the storage room to look for Kim's old clothes. She found a few pairs of old jeans and two T-shirts, but none of them fit me. Oh well, we tried. So I decided Sunday is my day of total relaxation at home and staying dry.
I got up a bit later than usual. Nicole told me to go up to the roof top to watch the children play. Children are so happy playing under the sun, it is such a day for children to have fun, chase each other with water and color each other. With the festival spirit, it is also a day to celebrate life and forget worldly anxieties and just be happy.
Nicole is relaxing at home too. She seemed very cheerful about the festival. Nicole is originally from Belgium. With cheerful blue eyes and a sunny complexion, her genuine smile is contagious that warms your heart. A nice woman with a big heart, full of love and compassion, Nicole has been living in Kathmandu for 24 years, raised two children here, Jonathan and Kim. Jonathan is 21, Kim 18. Both now studying in Belgium. Nicole is a teacher at an international school. I think she is the most innovative teacher. She constantly thinks of new things to teach the kids, such as how to make herbs using a stone grinder she just brought back from India, and to do something with avocado. If I were a kid, I would love Nicole to be my teacher.
Nicole told me that Life has meaning for her here. She loves her job and her kids at school. She likes to go to Tai Chi classes and buddhist meditation. She is learning to play flute. I heard her practice twice in the late evenings and it was mesmerizingly beautiful. She loves the food here, the culture, and the people. All the neighbors are nice and helpful. There is one neighbor who actually comes often in the evening just to check on her. I saw him once it was so sweet.
Around 6pm, we went out to a concert in a Hindu temple with another young couple from Belgium. Under the full moon in Nepal, I heard the most beautiful flute performance...
* * *
Later I learned from Wikipedia that Holi, the Festival of Colors, is a spring festival celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and others. It is primarily observed in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and countries with large Indic diaspora populations, such as Suriname, Guyana, South Africa, Trinidad, United Kingdom, United States, Mauritius, and Fiji.
On youtube, I found a few nice clips of Holi - the festival of colors. From the clips one can feel the festival spirit - so much color, so much fun, so much joy and richness in life...
Clip 1. Holi - the festival of colors.
This first clip has great photography! The music is fantastic, it really brings you to the scene of the holiday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPDR0ZMwSag
Clip 2. Holi - the festival of colour and togetherness. Beautiful photography.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIOuTzQ1WyM&feature=related
