The dichotomy of Holi

As the colourful Holi greetings flood social media, I am struck again by the dichotomy.
 
In genteel housing colonies and apartment complexes, families will chastely spread colours on each others faces, children will squirt coloured water from plastic guns and pumps, sweets and savouries will be eaten, and 'thandai' cold drinks that range from innocent to intoxicant will be drunk. It will all end with a wash and a bath in the afternoon. Tomorrow, housekeeping staff will wash and sweep the driveways and lawns but the colours will stain the ground and bodies for a few days more.

On the streets and in hostels across India, it will be different. In the streets, children and youth will sneak-attack passersby with balloons filled with coloured water or worse. Lumpen youth and men will smear powder, paste, or worse. Women, preferably young, will be targeted. Voices will be raised, palms and fists will fly. In hostels, the fastidious and the timid will lock themselves in their rooms to avoid the melee. Gangs of bullies, high on booze and more, will barge into their rooms and drown them in coloured water or worse. Fights will break out, complaints will be made and ignored.

Even at its best Holi is a riotous festival of colours teetering on the edge of mischief. Too often, it tips over to drunken, lecherous revelry.

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