Skip to main content

Holi: A festival for men


Since childhood, I loved playing with colours. When I was really tiny, all the cousins used to come over on the eve of Holi and we used to play on the terrace of our house with our little pichkaris and water balloons. When my parents moved to another city, I used to go to my maternal cousin’s house and all the kids of their locality used to play Holi in the playground. It was so much fun running around with those buckets and balloons in our hands.



Then I GREW UP and everything literally changed.

Suddenly I started feeling that this festival only belongs to men as I was feeling really unsafe around them. There were many incidences when I safeguarded myself from getting groped.  Today it has become worst when I cannot even think of stepping outside my house in the morning hours when people become wild while playing Holi.

I do not live in a gated society so whenever I open my window and look towards the main road during the peak hours of Holi I am unable to find a single woman on the streets. It’s all about boys driving their bikes rashly and giving goose bumps to all the passer-by. I wonder where all the women are gone and then I get my answer from within. I close the window glass and come back.



According to me, people have forgotten the essence of playing with colours. Now it is only about getting drunk and having the liberty to misbehave with women because the phrase says it all “Bura Na Maano Holi Hai.” I desperately want to shout in their ears and tell them, No it is not okay to do anything. We will mind and we will dissent. Just type on Google “rape cases on Holi” and you will be stunned to see the results. The first link said, “A 6-year-old girl was raped on Holi and 9 days later Police have only the culprit's name as a clue”. The second said, “80 years old dies after being gang-raped on Holi, 3 held.” Honestly, I could not gather the courage to read the third one.

Forget about rape cases. If only you will type “Holi for women” on Google, it will give you a list of safety tips for women. I mean seriously? Do we now need safety guidelines to be a part of our festivals? I understand and have made peace with the fact that we do live in a patriarchal society but all I want is a safe place to play my childhood’s favourite festival.

Is it actually too much to ask?

Comments

  1. Nishi MamgainApril 3, 2019 at 5:41 PM

    Wow Aanchal!! I never thought about this in this way. You are doing a great work by highlighting the everyday issues that we are facing now. Society needs to rethink and help in making the festival enjoyable for women as well.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Super September

Finally the super September is about to end. This 1 month has taught a lot. I have got a new perspective of dealing with things in life. Travelling alone has always fascinated me and this month has again given me this opportunity. Journey started with my favorite city Bengaluru. This city always welcomes me with open arms and gives me the freedom of travelling alone SAFELY. When I took airport shuttle for my cousin's place I had few emotional baggages in my mind regarding things I left midway when I left Delhi. But slowly it all went off and I started enjoying my company by exploring the new parts of the city. After reaching Mahadevpura, I saw an altogether different side of the city which resembled Chennai a lot. During my entire stay I went back to that phase when I left home alone for the first time. But Bengaluru looked much more beautiful when I came earlier. My cousin was waiting for me at some bypass, when I de-boarded the bus she welcomed me with a warm ...
2 comments
Read more

Bollywood: Birth and Evolution

Indian Hindi Film Industry, popularly known as Bollywood, is one of the strongest global cultural ambassadors of a new India. It has derived its name from the term Hollywood, which was given to the American Film Industry. Indian Cinema is one of the richest industry which produces the maximum number of movies in the world at around 1,500 to 2,000 every year in over 20 languages. Indian Cinema has evolved over a period of time. In the year 1931, the first silent feature film of India titled Raja Harishchandra produced and directed by Dadasaheb Phalke was released. This is the reason he is considered as the father of the Indian film industry and the most coveted award of Indian Cinema is named after him as Dadasaheb Phalke Award. In 1831, first Indian sound film titled Alam Ara was released. It was the directorial venture of Ardeshir Irani. It became so popular among the audience that Police had to be called in few theatres to control the crowd. In 1937, the first colour fi...
Post a Comment
Read more