When ‘Bura naa mano...’, ‘Jogira sararara...’ rent the air

PATNA: From pichkari, gobar, bhang and dholak-jhaal-nagada to water guns of Chinese make, synthetic colours, thandai and smartphone-tab-laptop... Holi’s has been a colourful story, rue old-timers.“Young Holi revellers, dressed in shabby clothes and drenched in mud, would zip through the city roads on scooters and bikes in tolis till noon and head back home to enjoy special delicacies ranging from kachaudi and pua to ‘meat’ and bhang. The family’s womenfolk would wind up the kitchen chores as early as possible, join their neighbourhood sahelis in the festivities and laugh their heads off. The wet Holi would be followed by the dry one in the evening. Visitors would pour in and smear each other with gulaal; youngsters would keep gulaal on the feet of elders and get money in return,” reminisced sexagenarian Kamal Ranjan Sahai, a honeyed tone of nostalgia seeping into his voice, on Thursday.Reflecting on vivid memories of his college days, the S K Puri resident recalled how the “festive carnival” lasted several days. “Holi shopping, which began weeks in advance, was never complete without a pichkari. We would aim at random strangers, much to their annoyance, and shout ‘Bura na maano, Holi hai’. Back then no one reacted sharply to the frivolities. Today, however, most festivals, including Holi, have lost their original flavour,” regretted Sahai, who is often tempted to go back in time and play, what he says, ‘Hurdangi Holi’ with pals.Homemaker Renu Singh had a similar tale to tell TOI. “In our times, Holi celebrations were not confined to our houses. Children, young boys and men alike collected small donations from passersby while women lit the Holi pyre a day before the festival. Everyone huddled together around the fire and offered anything they could lay their hands on – from wafers and cow dung cakes to brooms and bundles of straw thatch. The idea was to come together, talk, eat and have lots of fun,” said the Raja Bazaar resident.The 67-year-old, who terribly misses the good ol’ days, has no complaints about Holi taking on new hues with changing lifestyles. What, however, does sadden her is the fact that “people now remain indoors on a festival which symbolizes togetherness”. “Famous Poorvanchal folk songs like ‘Jogira sara rara’ have been replaced with electronically distorted songs, natural homemade gulaal with chemical colours and the traditional bhang with liquor. Sab kuchh dikhaawati ho gaya hai,” she said.Youngsters have a different take on festivals, however. “Staying at home, spending quality time with my parents and sisters, sleeping through the morning, eating my favourite food and not attending classes for a week – that’s what Holi means to me,” said law student Abhinav, who lives away from home and comes back once in a while.PICHKARIS WHAT: It is difficult to pinpoint when and how ‘pichkaris’ came to be an indispensable part of Holi. Old-timers attribute it to mythology: Krishna would playfully drench Gopis of Gokul with water from his ‘pichkari’. The Lord’s bamboo-made pichkari gave way to the metal ones made of steel and brass with wooden handles. Plastic water guns came much later, say old-timers.“Pichkaris available in the market today are miniature high-end gizmos of sorts with water tanks and multiple nozzles. You have to spend no less than Rs 200 for a decent water gun to douse your friends in the colours of Holi,” said Rakesh, who has put up a makeshift shop at Bakerganj to sell gulaals and pichkaris this Holi.