As an Indophile and a peace loving Pakistani, I grew up on a diet of Bollywood blockbusters, super-hit songs and even Indian soap operas. Since my childhood, I've known about the rituals being practised by Hindus of neighbouring India and the festivals they celebrate with glee and joy – including Holi.
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the Bollywood and Indian soap opera stars who made my childhood and adolescence colourful through their appearances on my television screen – and continue to enthral me to this day.
It is Bollywood, with songs like “Rang Barse” from Big-B starrer Silsila, “Let’s play Holi” from PeeCee and Akki starrer Waqt: The Race Against Time and recent chart busters like “Balam Pichkari” and “Badri ki Dulhaniya” which acquainted me with this fun-filled festival that South Asian culture has to offer.
I feel that nowhere in the world, whether West or East, one can find the kind of energy, fun and positivity that Holi itself emanates. It makes the people who celebrate it give off the same positive energy.
Of course, there is also a crazy and wild side to Holi – or so I have learned from the various Holi specials that air on TV channels like Colors and Sony (which were very much available on Pakistani TV screens in the past but are unfortunately no longer available, due to Indo-Pak tensions).
I have grown up watching stars celebrate Holi – listening intently as they shared their tales about how, for some, bhang made their Holi special – while for others it was the sweet gujiya. But obviously, the best part is making each other ‘rangeen’ with all the festive colours.
I wasn’t alone in my fascination. Many of my friends in school were also intrigued with the whole idea of Holi as it was not very foreign. I remember it was in 2015, during my final days in 11th standard, that my school buddies and I decided to celebrate Holi, and it luckily coincided with the last day of my school.
We made our last school day memorable by throwing colour on one another. We celebrated Holi with different colours, ranging from purple and pink to yellow and green. We were equipped with pichkaaris and water guns too!
I remember that we threw coloured powders at each other and played loud music, especially the aforementioned songs. We danced like there was no tomorrow. To the surprise of many Indians reading this piece, this was happening in Lahore and not somewhere abroad. Despite being non-Hindus and despite belonging to Pakistani families, we were able to enjoy the festivities with equal zeal and fervour.
That was the first time I celebrated Holi and it was truly a memory worth cherishing.
Holi, to me, is a festival of love and belonging – one that allows us to eradicate any barriers amongst us that are created through petty friction and antagonism. It’s a festival which brings people together and makes them realise that they are the same at the end of the day, no matter their religion, gender, caste or race.
I wish a Happy Holi to my Hindu brethren in India, Pakistan as well as around the globe. Do remember me while you are doing Puja in your temple, devouring some gujiya or drinking a glass of bhang or thandai!
(The author is a Pakistani blogger and student. He tweets at @sarmadiqbal7.)
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