We recall the time when movies were all black-and-white, and then came Technicolor! The screen was ablaze with a new genre of films, which celebrated color! We remember the transition from the black-and-white TV sets to the world of color. For days on end, we stayed glued to the TV because it was such a visual treat! How we waited to go to school in colored clothes, setting aside the monochromatic uniforms for that one day- on Children’s Day! The whites of Cricket made a transition to colored wear and with this change, came a brand new fan-following for the sport. It is clear- the leap from the world of black-and-white to color is nothing short of dramatic!
Nature follows this transition from black-and-white to color each year. The months of winter are like a bunch of black-and-white photographs. The frosty days and long nights ensure shades of grey dominate the landscape. The trees are bare and the branches stick out like the skeletal remains of a scarecrow! The sun stays behind a curtain and makes an occasional, desultory entry, if at all. The eyes develop a fatigue, deprived of all color. Even the best of us are weighed down by the winter blues. Though most parts of India are spared from such a bleak winter, still, it is not easy in the northern states.
Suddenly, spring bursts forth in a riot of colors. Nature is like a child that has been held captive for too long. It frolics in spring’s new-found freedom as if it has laid its hands on a box of colorful toffees! The trees get a fresh cloak of green, the sky is awash in a deep-blue tint and flowers burgeon at every nook and corner. Nature has taken out its big paint-box and has laid out all the colors on a palette! Like an Impressionist artist at work, it coats the canvas with bold strokes of crimson and red, pink and purple! It is as if all the silk sarees have been emptied out of the shelf and now lie scattered, layer upon layer, in rich hues, all around us! Birds warble in symphony filled with joie de vivre. The Himalayan snows show the first signs of thawing and the rivers gush forth, gurgling with joy! The Valley of Flowers comes alive. As the poet would say- “Ten-thousand saw I at a glance, tossing their heads in sprightly dance!’ It dazzles the eye! Such is nature’s bounty! Our cities seem distant from all this vibrant action. No doubt, it is muted, but the signs are visible for the one who looks for it. The car parked by the roadside overnight has a sprinkling of tiny blossoms on the roof as we drive out!
Holi heralds the onset of spring. It celebrates this splash of color. In some parts of the country, it is followed with overflowing enthusiasm- with pichkaris and water-balloons, gulaal and colored-powder! The fun is infectious and an unwary bystander can well be pulled into the celebration with a sudden deluge of colored-water! There is a popular Holi quote, used commonly in the Northern states. Loosely translated, it reads, “Please do not be offended. It is Holi!” More than being a license to take liberty and ask for pardon later, this quote has more than meets the eye. We try our best to be sensitive to everyone’s feelings. Still, if we inadvertently offend someone, we ask for forgiveness in the spirit of Holi. Holi is also about the timeless message of the spring season. It is the message of abundance, distributed to the world at large with no expectation of a return favor. We remember this message of inclusion and mentally embrace the entire world in one sweep.
We may not be part of a formal Holi celebration. Still, we celebrate Holi through our silent appreciation of nature that is born again every spring. We are as much a part of nature. The body may age; in sprit, we are born again each spring! Come! Let us celebrate this spring with a new spring in our steps and add more color to the days ahead!
