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Published: March 17th 2006
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Train to Andheri
This is just the start of our day! So no one hears from me in months, and then two entries right close to each other, and this one with PHOTOS!
*note, there are many names listed. Allow me to give you a cast list:
Ashifa-roommate
Beth-roommate and volunteer in my class
Marianne-friend from France
Gila-former roommate
Shirin-never roommate, friend throught Gila
Chris-with Shirin
Sukhesh, Caleb, Dave-Bandra Guys (they live in Bandra)
Lalita-Dave's girlfriend
Rebecca-friend from Germany
Wednesday was Holi, which is a Hindu holiday based on this story that young Lord Krishna (who had skin so dark it's colored blue in pictures) was complaining to his mother that Radha (the girl he loved) was too fair, so she wouldn't love him. His mother told him to smear colored powder on his love's face and see how fair she was then. So now the tradition goes that you smear colored powder on the people you like or care about...or who walk down the street.
Beth and I started our Holi on P.D'Mello Road, the slum where our kids live, at 9 am. We had on our white Holi shirts and crappy "I don't care if this gets ruined" pants and brought a water gun. Literally within
Ashifa
Meet my roommate Ashifa, from the Holi Matrix moments we were not only covered with colored powder, but also soaked with colored water and I had 3 eggs in my hair. Mmmm yummy. A few of our boys walked with us until we found a cab willing to take us, and as we went, people tossed powder, eggs and a cucumber (who throws a friggin cucumber?!) at us. We felt pretty done with Holi.
But Holi was far from done with us.
We'd promised some of our expat friends that we'd meet them up in Juhu (way way north from us), so we picked up Ashifa and hopped on the train. Juhu quickly turned into Andheri (farther north from us) when I got a call from Gila, Shirin and Chris telling us where to meet. Once off the train, we got in 2 autorickshaws (remember the 3 wheeled moped buggies of doom?), Marianne and Beth (and all the Holi powder) in one, Ashifa and I in the other. The rick drivers kept driving alongside each other so Marianne and Beth could hit us with powder, while we sat helplessly in our rick...powderless.
When we arrived at the named location, we found a basketball court converted
More Color
Ashifa puts more Holi on me...as if I wasn't colored enough at that point! into huge party put on by the Times of India. There was a DJ, food, drinks (had to buy the food and drink of course), water spraying all over the court from shower like hoses (with amazing water pressure, I wanted to take one home!), and of course, hundreds of people throwing colors on each other. Armed with baggies of pink (the most common color), blue, purple, yellow, teal and orange, the four of us set out to color our friends...even more. Before long we were all soaking wet and covered in colors!
Around this time, the guys from Bandra, Sukhesh, Dave (and Lalita) and Caleb showed up. Rebecca also arrived about this time, but she's not a Bandra Guy...for obvious reasons. With bags of colored water and water guns. Beth somehow got completely doused in blue, which made her more than slightly resemble Lord Krishna. Sukhesh was also covered in blue, but his skin is so dark you could barely see it. I was a myriad colors, my fore arms silver from my friend Chris (from Australia) my shirt, once white, now mostly purple and blue, my face mostly redish mauve (according to Ashifa) but not devoid of
Messy Times
Seriously, we shower. blues, my scalp bright pink, etc.
So exhausted and drenched, we grabbed some food and ate a picnic lunch on the (unstained, but filled with red ants) grass. I haven't had a nice picnic like that in ages, and it was more than welcome. We planned to meet in town (aka Colaba, the south, where I live) for dinner, plans which quitkly fell through once we all got to our homes and realized how exhausted we were.
Ashifa, Beth and I each had to take 30 minute showers, if not longer (thank goodness the geyser guy fixed the hot water geyser the day before) to try and scrub ourselves. Unfortunately, Beth and I were not completely successful. Beth came out looking like a goth/druggie sort of chick with dark around her eyes and partially blue/green hair. I ended up with a pink face (just a little pink though), bright pink scalp, reddish hair, blackish ears, a green stomach, and purple hands. I've been told it should face away over the next few days.
With love for the electric reddish pink color stuck in my hair (that might freak my mother out if it's still there when
Closeup
I'm probably about to get attacked again I see her),
Me.
PS. I'm trying to post photos of Holi, so hopefully they're up for you to enjoy.
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