Visakhapatnam :
Holi hai! The call is not just confined to the north Indians but also for Andhraites.
Around three decades ago, the locals were reluctant to even move out of their houses when the Marwaris, Gujaratis, Bengalis or people from other north Indian communities in the city celebrated the festival of colours. Getting drenched in the colour water or throwing gulal at one another was alien to them. But not anymore.
With the changing times, Andhraites of the city are also enthusiastically taking part in the celebrations, which has become an occasion for Telugus to bond with the people of the north Indian communities.
“I started participating in this colourful festival with my friends after I joined engineering and now it seems the festival has caught the fancy of the Vizagites. We go to the Beach Road in the morning and enjoy a lot playing with eco-friendly colours. A couple of north Indian friends are also part of our group,” said third-year engineering student B Gowtham.
“The night before Holi, we light a splendid bonfire or the Holika. Holi sweets are another attraction of this festival, which now has an all-India appeal,” he said.
City-based businessman V Nageshwar Rao, who celebrates the festival with his Marwari friends, said that Holi is a national festival that ought to be celebrated by all communities and states.
“What appeals to me the most about Holi is that it helps us bond with other communities. We get to know the tradition of other states and we get to spend some enjoyable time with family and friends playing with ‘gulal’ and gorging on sweets on Holi. Earlier, Holi wasn’t much in vogue in Vizag but nowadays Telugu youngsters are enthusiastically celebrating it,” he said.
Telugu children rue that Holi is not an official holiday in schools in Vizag. “It would have been great had the schools declared at least a day’s holiday on Holi. However, as there is no holiday, we can’t enjoy throughout the day. I’m looking forward to the barfis and sweet kachoris from my north Indian friends,” said G Swathi, a class IX student.
Holi has another appeal for city artist K Ravi. “Colours have always attracted me. The Holi colours remind me of nature in spring, when colourful flowers bloom to paint the city red, pink, orange and yellow. I have been to Tagore’s Shantiniketan in West Bengal , where Holi is celebrated in a big way but the colours used are dry powder. In Vizag, too, I play Holi with friends, but I prefer the coloured powder and natural eco-friendly colours,” he said.
Naresh Agarwal, president of the Marwari Yuva Manch, welcomed the trend of Telugus celebrating Holi. “We are happy that people of south Indian communities are celebrating Holi, which is actually a north Indian festival. Just as we also participate in Ugadi and Sankranthi celebrations, our Telugu friends are also celebrating Holi and Diwali with us, signifying a beautiful blend of north and south Indian cultures,” he said. “On Tuesday we would have ‘Holika puja’ on R K Beach, where the bonfire would be lit to symbolically destroy all things negative. There would be dance and celebrations till late in the night. On Wednesday, pujas in the Shyam temple since morning would be followed by special Holi programmes. Sweets and thandai would be distributed to all and people of various communities will celebrate with colours,” he said.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / by Sulogna Mehta, TNN / March 26th, 2013