While Nick was off shooting these beautiful underwater pics in Lake Malawi, Nia and I were busy frollicking around town (more like village, really). The whole weekend was magnificent, but the event that really rocked our world was the Holi Festival at the Indian High Commissioner’s Residence.
In a nutshell, Holi is a 2 day Hindu festival that signals the start of spring. On the first day of the festival there is a big bonfire to re-enact the burning of the female demoness Holika. Day 2 is celebratory in nature, with Indians throwing/smearing colored powder all over each other. Heirarchy is very big in India and this is one of the few days where everyone is equal – children douse elders with water, woman throw powder on men and most importantly, caste and creed are forgotten. Want to learn more? Check out THIS ARTICLE.
Nia and I got invited to the Indian High Commissioner’s Residence for Lilongwe’s Holi Festival. We had never been to anything like this and were thrilled to get a little taste of the culture of our soon-to-be-home. Upon arriving, we were ushered over to the “fun & games” area where we were encouraged to try on some beautiful saris.
I was so in love with the one I got to try on. You can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be having a few of these beauties custom-made during our tour. I can’t get over the vibrancy of the colors and the swish of the luxe fabrics. So dreamy… and can I just put out a silent wish to the Universe that during my 3 years I get to go to at least one Hindu Wedding (for which I’d wear my sari, of course). That can’t be too much to ask, right???
The sari options for Nia were more limited but she rolled with it and found a look she could rock. :)
After our time was up with the saris, we ventured over to another area where they were doing Indian Rangoli Art. There were a variety of chalk drawings on the floor and various powders were allocated to fill in the design. Nia had a blast and participated on at least 3 of them.
Here’s how the final product turned out! Pretty, huh?
Next it was time for the powder throwing to begin. I am not super comfortable with getting dirty, but I wanted to immerse myself in the experience, so I just went for it. I don’t think I could have avoided it even if I wanted to – there wasn’t a single powder-less person there. Random strangers kept coming up and smearing powder on my face. Took a bit of getting used to but once I gave myself over to the mess, I had a blast.
It was then time for the dancing to commence. I’m not kidding, Nia was a dancing MACHINE. She danced for 90 minutes straight. I think she fancied herself a professional Bollywood dancer. Her fierce moves and intense facial expressions drew a lot of attention. When asked where she learned her moves, she replied, “My Mom taught me.” Ummmm, right. I gotta say though, the girl sold it. She was in a LOT of pictures. My favorite was when there was a group of people dancing (none of which she knew) and she’d just insert herself into the circle and dance in the middle.
She was a riot. Wish you all could have seen it. The best I can do is to share this short video with you. Sorry about the fact that it’s sideways – couldn’t figure it out how to turn it when editing. I guarantee you a chuckle though!
About 2 hours into the event the formal program began. There were adorable kids singing, dancing and playing musical instruments. I just kept imagining Nia in some adorable outfit like this…
After the event, Nia and I both agreed that India is going to be an awesome cultural fit for us. The music, dance, outfits, colors – we adore it all! Makes me very impatient to get to India. 6 months to go!
Photo Credits: photos 6, 7 and 9 were taken by my friend Suresh Muthukrishnan
