[Special] The Community Talks Holi - The Festival Of Colours

[Tofu 6,773]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello friends and fellow tankers! Time just flies by, doesn't it? The Festival of Colours, Holi has come to India. Thanks to busy schedules and time constraints, we rarely get time to play and enjoy life. The onset of the month of March means dealing with examinations, whether you're in a school or a college or enduring the workload of quarter endings in offices. This goes on to show that we do get tired a lot and want to do something exciting with our lives, and what better way to fulfill this than celebrating a festival? We always have the wish to do something different from the monotonous tune of our lives. Thus, festivals have a major role to play in keeping our lives entertained - and in the month of March, it's time for Holi!

 

 

In India, one can find diversity everywhere. One would know that the diversity found in India is at times unparalleled and this is why, Holi too, is celebrated differently all across the nation. Read on to find out how different parts of India celebrate Holi with the help of @tankerkuldeep, @KIngJack21, , @arnav0506, @lukes112014, @beaku and @sre123!

 

 

Time for the introductions, could you all tell us a bit about yourselves?

 

@tankerkuldeep : My name is Kuldeep Saini and I'm from Jaipur, Rajasthan. I am 23 years old. I have been playing Tanki Online since five years. My rank is now Legend. I like making friends and I have made quite a lot friends through Tanki Online.

 

: Hey there, thanks for having me in this interview. My name is Supratik Bora and I live in Assam. I have been in this game for quite long now, almost four years. My hobbies are painting and playing piano.

 

@lukes112014 : Hi! I am a student from Kolkata, West Bengal. I started playing Tanki Online nearly six years ago. There have been many ups and downs since then. I am currently the leader of the clan Legendary Warriors.

 

@KIngJack21 : Hello! I am from Gujarat and I have plenty of experience in Tanki Online. I also handle the Indian Players conversation club which can be found in the Off-topic section of the TO forum.

 

@beaku : I have no idea where I'm from, xD. But I'm currently living in Hyderabad, Telangana. I'm a student in real life and in Tanki, I'm a noob player. I'm also a forum moderator in TO and forum administrator in Tanki X.

 

@arnav0506 : Hi all, I am a fellow Tanki player, call me Ar9. I am from Pune, India and 14 years old. I was first suggested miniclip.com by a friend when I was in the 5th grade, and eventually I saw this game Tanki Online in the popular section THREE years later (No I'm not an elephant), and started to play it.

 

@sre123 : Hello friends! My real name is Muthukumar and I am from Calicut (Kerala, India). I have been playing Tanki Online since 2013 and I am in the clan 'Happy Dragons' . I like browsing the forums and talking to friends.

 

 

Do you celebrate Holi?

 

 

@tankerkuldeep : Yes, I do celebrate Holi every year.

 

: Yes. Holi, also known as "Phakuwa" in Assamese, and is celebrated in Assam over two days.  It is also called "Dol Jatra" by the local people. On the first day, clay huts are burnt in the Barpeta district and in Lower Assam. Some people also play with each other on this day using dirt and mud. Holi is celebrated with colours on the next day.

 

@lukes112014 : Yep. We do celebrate holi . It is really special for us. Children in West Bengal always look forward to it since they can play with there "pichkaris" and throw colours at each other.

 

@KIngJack21 : Is that a question? Of course I do celebrate Holi every year, out of which the Holi of 2012 was the most memorable in my life.

 

@beaku : Not a lot, as I normally have exams at this time but if I get a chance I won't say no.

 

@arnav0506 : Yes, with great pleasure and all the "hues of life" that you need. The festival involves the burning of the Holika in my place, Pune. The day following it is 'Dhulivandan', and four days after that we have 'Rangapanchami', also known as the day of colours.

 

@sre123 : We don't celebrate Holi as such, but we have a separate festival, called Onam later on in the year. We celebrate another festival during this time but it is mostly celebrated in the temples, in Thrissur district. The "Thrissur Pooram" lasts for seven days and a lot of festivities take place. 

 

Gulaal and other colours

 

 

How do you celebrate Holi?

 

@tankerkuldeep : The Holi celebrations start from Holika Dahan (previous day of 'dhulandi') in which we burn Holika and pray. We organise Holika Dahan programme in our colony, have sweets and drink 'Thandai'. (without bhang) On the next day I celebrate Holi with my friends and family with colours and water. In the morning I celebrate with my brother, sister and cousins and then I go with my friends and celebrate. We ride on our bikes, blow the horn and rub colours on each other (and tear clothes).

 

Gujiya

 

: Although Holi IS celebrated in Assam, it isn't taken so seriously in my locality/town. For me, Holi means a day of roaming all around the town with friends and putting colors on people's faces. It starts off early in the morning with just a few buddies visiting each other and colouring their faces with powders. We wear our worst possible clothes (Because our moms hate washing those colors off). We visit our entire class, violently rub colors all over their bodies, face off with the girls and probably play a prank or two on the way (like dropping an entire bucket on water on a friend). By evening, we would have an entire gang following us.  Then, we part ways, return home with a face that looks no less than a clown and spend like, 2 hours trying to get those stains off our body in the bathroom. Or simply, take a bath.

 

@lukes112014 : Early morning, everyone (especially students), wear saffron coloured clothes and girls wear garlands and flowers. The festival is celebrated in a respectful manner and dedicated to Shri Krishna and Radha. Their idols are then placed in a palanquin (which of course is decorated) and taken around the streets. Women dance around it and men sprinkle coloured water and throw colours on them. The head of each family fasts and prays to Lord Krishna and Agnidev. After the rituals, he offers "bhog" (prasad, or offering) to Lord Krishna and Agnidev. He also smears Lord Krishna's idol with 'Gulaal' (red colour).

 

@KIngJack21 : Holi is celebrated on the purnima of the Falgun month. I am Gujarati and our preparations for Holi start seven days before the actual festival commences. Wood, kites, logs, etc. are collected in a field to prepare for the bonfire. In the evening, people flock to the field to participate. After the bonfire is lit, people perform their religious rituals. People offer coconuts in the fire, take 'prasad' and head back to their homes. Now comes the second day of Holi. I really like this day. On this day we meet up at a friend's house and after that the real deal begins. The Holi of 2012 is memorable for me because during the celebrations we had our photo published in the newspaper. At that time we had an exceptional 'garba' singer in our group which is why we had that photo. One can say that the Holi of 2012 was madness in every possible way. I remember that at the end of the chaos when we had finished our stock of colours, a girl, whom we had nicknamed 'Don' brought us the old oil from her Activa two-wheeler. We played holi for the last time that day using that oil. Yes, it was hot but then because of the blistering heat, there was a burning sensation on our skin but then again, it was fun. Thus, we all had to unwillingly go home early that day. However, we should indeed use non-chemical colours while playing Holi.

 

@beaku : Well, celebrating Holi has always been a complicated issue for me. Most people are excited about colours and all that, but I detest it. So, at least until a few years ago, my mother forced me to go outside and play Holi. Much of the celebrations are pretty generic. Though I always made it a point to have the biggest water gun (I even bought the ones with them big tanks that you carry around like a backpack xD). Though starting around four or five years back, I decided to conserve water and encourage other to do so too. Hence my friends and I started playing "dry Holi". After 10th grade, I really haven't got a chance to play Holi since I'm busy with studies, but I hope to enjoy some years down the line.

 

@arnav0506 : Oh well, after the first day, it's all about colours and water.. Although the amount of water wasted is negligible (notice the sarcasm when I talk about ten year old kids coming and pumping into you three water balloons along with some colour), our society tries to promote usage of eco-friendly colors which do not harm the environment.
My day is structured:

1. Destroy any nugs waiting below with a salvo of water balloons.
2. Once the area is clear, take a primary water gun along with two secondary Glock sized water pistols. Carry a sack of Water balloons, as needed.
3. Use the color to make a quick get-away when stuck; just pelt it at 'em kids with one hand while maneuvering legs to move, and shoot a spring of HCl water right into their face.
4. After using all drugs and ammo, retire from play to rest in a hot water bath at home!

 

@sre123 : We celebrate Onam by arranging a "Pookalam". We also have a Sadhya, which generally is afternoon food which consists of various yummy delicacies. After that, we go to the temple and spend time with each other and family. Onam is generally a 9-10 day event but the main event takes place in the "Thiruvonam" day which is decided according to the position of stars.

On the other hand, the Thrissur Pooram includes fireworks and an elephant parade. The elephants are decorated and have distinctive umbrellas on their foreheads called "nettipattam". The fireworks display takes place in 2 different rounds. The second round is more magnificent than the first round. There are two groups who compete against each other in this round. Overall, the festival is quite elaborate.

 

Thandai

 

 

Do you do something special for the day?     

                                           

@tankerkuldeep : Every year on Holi, my mother makes delicious food and sweets, out of which my favourite is 'Gujiya' which is made exclusively for Holi. As for the clothes, we are forced to wear the oldest and most ragged clothes because I know that my friends will tear them up after all.

 

: As I have already mentioned above, Holi isn't celebrated exclusively in my town. So yeah, there isn't anything special we do for the day. I just spend my day roaming around the town with my friends. But there is a special festival exclusive to Assam, Bihu.

 

Bihu is the most prominent festival celebrated in Assam, celebrated to signify the importance of agriculture in the rural Assamese life. The three Bihus – Bohaag, Kati and Maagh – marks the cultivation of paddy, the native crop of Assam.
 

Bohaag Bihu, also known as Rongali Bihu, is celebrated with a lot of joy and zeal among all the Bihus. The Bohaag/Baisakhi month falls around in the middle of April. It is the first month of the Assamese calendar and therefore, Bohaag Bihu is also celebrated as the Assamese New Year. It marks the beginning of a new season of farming. Bohaag/Rongali Bihu is celebrated over a course of 7 days.

Kati Bihu is also known as Kongali Bihu. Unlike Bohaag Bihu, this Bihu is the quietest of all the three. Earthen lamps are lit to mark the celebrations. The farmers are busy with their fields all day and they pray for a better crop during this time of the farming cycle. Maagh Bihu is also known as Bhogali Bihu. As its name itself implies, this Bihu is literally eating and enjoying all day. After the farmers harvest their crops, they prepare cottages made of hay in the field and spend the night singing and dancing together. The next morning, the cottage is lit up in fire as it brings an end to a yearly season of Bihu.

It is evident from the three Bihus that rural folk of Assam is mainly dependent on agriculture. This festival is celebrated by everyone in the state. It is such a festival that diminishes the boundaries of rich, poor, caste or creed.

 

@lukes112014 :  Holi in Bengal is known as "Dol Jatra" or "Dol Purnima". The main point of Holi in Bengal is "Basant Utsav" or "Vasant Utsav" (Depends on you how you spell it). Vasant Utsav means "Spring Festival". It was introduced by one of the greatest poets, Rabindranath Tagore at Shantiniketan, where he opened his own school. The season does not only deal with colours, but also involves songs and dances. This day many schools in Bengal put it up as a "free day" type of thing where students come with any dress they wish, have fun with friends and stuff. Sometimes, there are even many programmes organized by students themselves!

 

@KIngJack21 : We start our preparations for the day of 'dhuleti' at least one day before. On this day of the year we can forget our troubles and have rejoice with friends. In the evening we eat food at some hotel and if someone is due to give us a party, today is the best day to ask for one. :P However old we grow, we are still children for our mothers and our face is a sight to see for them, after the Holi is over and we return home. :D

 

@beaku : You can guess the clothes. All mothers force their children to wear the oldest, most ragged clothes. But the day before Holi, when Holika is burnt, we all wear nice clothes and attend the puja. There's no particular food we prepare for Holi, though.

 

@arnav0506 : Oh, there's a huge selection of sweets and food items that we prepare. Some kids distribute sweets like 'milk pedhas' around our society. At home, drinks like Jal Jeera are pretty much the usual. The main dish is Puran-poli, which is a roti made out of a Maharashtrian delicacy, "Puran" . It's pretty tasty and delicious, and being a sweet, is liked by all  Eating 3-4 of these at a sitting is not rare here!!

 

@sre123 : Yes, we perform "Ona Kodi". It basically means buying clothes for each member of the family. Then we eat the Sadhya as I mentioned above.

 

Puran-poli

 

 

Why is Holi special for you?

 

@tankerkuldeep : Holi is my favourite festival because it's the festival of colours after all, and on this day I can meet up with my friends and relatives who are normally busy with their studies and other jobs all year round. 

 

: I really look forward to Holi every year, for it is the day I have the most fun in the entire year. It is a day when I can forget everything and only enjoy being with my friends. Riding our cycles all around the town, visiting classmates and calling them out to have fun is like an adventure.

 

@lukes112014 : Holi is special to us because it of course is the festival of colours. Children here are very happy to sing and dance and the adults can gossip and enjoy with others freely that day. All problems are meant to be forgotten. A tension free day!

 

@KIngJack21- When I was in 3rd grade, we had a chapter in our textbooks based on the festival of Holi. It was very long ago but my love and attachment for this festival starts from there. There is a folktale behind this festival. It is the story of the devotee, Prahlad. His father likened himself to a God was against Lord Vishnu (a Hindu God) while Prahlad was a devotee of Vishnu ji. His father tried to kill his son many times. In the end, he asked his sister Holika for help. Holika was said to have the boon of not burning in fire. She agreed to help her brother instead as she took Prahlad and went and stood in a fire but due to Lord Vishnu's help, Prahlad was saved while Holika burned in the fire. The story displays the victory of good over evil.

 

@beaku : Well, to be honest I've lived in many places across India but Holi celebration has been pretty much the same. Sure, there are various minor details which differ from region to region, but in the end, the theme which I find resonating with Holi, is unity in diversity. Regardless of what colour, creed or economic stature you are, during Holi, everyone is the same. Even though Holi is predominantly based upon legends in Hinduism culture, it has become more of a tradition in our country and is celebrated by people of other religions too. Seeing this is what makes Holi special for me.

 

@arnav0506 : The lighting of the bonfire marks ending of all sorrow and remorse and brings the charisma of colors and happiness in life! It's a great, nevertheless watery start to the year. It's enjoyable and is a relief from the daily life of studies and Tanki. Other parts of India also regard the burning of Holika, who was the sister of Hiranyakashapu - who was appointed by the evil demon to kill Prahlad, an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu. With the Lord's help, not only was Prahlad saved, but Holika and her evil brother were put to an end by the 4th Incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Narasimha. He is visualized as having the face of a Lion, it's claws and torso and legs of a human, said to be the God of Protection. Overall, it's really a nice festival, and colors are sure stress relievers and a wonderful sight to see!

 

@sre123 : Onam is special for me because it reunites everyone in the family. It brings a sensation of joy. and, more importantly it gives us a ten day holiday.

 

Holika Dahan (bonfire)

 

 

Holi is close to our hearts because of many reasons but I think that the biggest reason is that Holi is free from any kind of discrimination. Think for yourself, when we go out to play with our friends, do we ask about the caste or creed?  No, right? We free up our mind and celebrate with everyone. We treat everyone as a friend. No one is a stranger. Everyone is happy. We burn the Holika in the evening because in the form of a bonfire, we actually burn away all our sins, vices, bad thoughts and cruelty. It is necessary that we move forward in life using the good things and virtues. A person who is able to do this is the one who really understands the festival. That's all and a very happy Holi on behalf of the Newspaper Team. Now go out and play Holi with your friends, they are waiting for you. Enjoy the spring season and good wishes to you all! :)

 

Image sources by order - [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]

 

[Zenyth 6,494]

A special article underlining the various ways in which the festival of Holi is celebrated across India. Hopefully, you'll get to know something new, thanks to our interviewees! 

[I3.R.0 1,700]

An overview of the festival Holi. As said, you'll get to know something new. Even from my side, thanks to all our interviewees. Happy Holi and keep enjoying!

See ya right there in the battlefield. :)

[Cyborg 3,189]

The festival of colors  :wub:

[sre123 595]

Thank you for interviewing me!!  :wub:  :wub:  :wub:

[oOo.Aryan.oOo 968]

Nice topic

You guys forgot to take my interview

BTW happy Holi

[tankerkuldeep 739]

Happy Holi... :D

[Tofu 6,773]

Thank you for interviewing me!!  :wub:  :wub:  :wub:

The pleasure was mine :)

 

Nice topic

You guys forgot to take my interview

BTW happy Holi

Maybe next time :P

And same to you

 

Happy Holi... :D

Happy Holi to you too!

[arnav0506 2,777]

Thanks, Neut. Certainly appreciate that you asked me :)

Very Very well written!!!

Khush Kar deta yaara <3

Edited March 13, 2017 by arnav0506

[Tofu 6,773]

Thanks, Neut. Certainly appreciate that you asked me :)

Very Very well written!!!

Khush Kar deta yaara <3

Thanks :D

[Ambitious 2,084]

Happy Holi! :D

A neat and well written interview :)

Edited March 13, 2017 by Ambitious

[Tofu 6,773]

Happy Holi! :D

A neat and well written interview :)

Happy holi to you as well!

And thanks

[marchay 4]

Nice 

Bharat maata ki jay :)

[anurag007 0]

i am so proud because i am an Indian and i live in bihar ,Patna. But this time there was cold weather and we were not able to play holi for long so that is the problem of this year.

 

anyway it was fun to celiberate holi

:)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)  :)

[abhishek2001-2015 18]

nice guys :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

[HlNDU 9]

Happy holi to you as well!

And thanks

neutrino thnx for making us proud . happy belated holi .

bura naa mano holi h <3

[maria-mary 23]

Happy HolI :) 

[jugalunpredictable 9]

happly holi and i lobe bhang

[GOLD_BOX_TAKEN_BY 584]

[mokshjain1234 2]

happy holi bhioo                              sabby singh

[oOo.INDIAN-TANKI.oOo 9]

Happy Holi to All Indians . I am a bengali from kolkata . 

 

One of my happiest part in childhood memories was Holika Dahan ( its called in bengali 'nera pora' ) . We did every night before that day ( Holi Day ) in every year . Then next day we played Holi. Just Woooooooowwwww moments in my life :) :)

Edited March 16, 2017 by oOo.INDIAN-TANKI.oOo

[ChrisandStefanPRO 379]

Thanks for sharing ur culture with us btw nice article ;)

[online-tank-PRO 122]

u guys forgot to take my interview well happy holi to all my bhai and bahans.

To TO player main aap sabko happy holi wish karta hoon hindus :D

{belated}

[online-tank-PRO 122]

Happy Holi to All Indians . I am a bengali from kolkata . 

 

One of my happiest part in childhood memories was Holika Dahan ( its called in bengali 'nera pora' ) . We did every night before that day ( Holi Day ) in every year . Then next day we played Holi. Just Woooooooowwwww moments in my life :) :)

i always enjoyed playing holi but not holika dahan :P

[INDIAN_INDIAN 419]

wow good job guys .. :) :) :) :)