All of us have been uttering and hearing the saying, ‘Bura Na Mano Holi Hai’ since we gained our senses. The line is used when someone smears colors on someone mischievously out of sheer fun.
One can date it all back to Lord Krishna. The deity in his human form played Holi with ‘Gopis’ and Radha. Women back then were shy but in awe of the Lord so they gathered around him and applied colors breaking barriers and having fun.
How the fun manifested into something which caused even the slightest discomfort is what is to be noted.
No matter how common a form of ritual or celebration is, it should always be understood that not all would like to participate in it. But Holi over the years has become one of those festivals where random people apply colors on you despite your reluctance, saying, ‘Bura Na Mano Holi Hai’.
What’s even more alarming is that there are mostly men in the streets who are intoxicated with Thandai that has Bhaang incorporated in it. In their uncontrollable euphoric stage, they hurl objectionable comments and even openly flirt with women. You can’t even recognize them for they are full of colors. Even our society and Bollywood have normalized the whole thing creating songs and liners.
Well, it’s not just unknown men but men in the family itself who lose control and tend to do all sorts of the nuisance.
Another dark truth that not many women would reveal is that these men often come in close contact and touch and grope the private places. It is equally horrific even if they simply touch an inch of skin without consent and on this very day everything magnifies like anything.
And it’s not that it’s only the unmarried women that are prone to such behavior but even the married ones who are often fed the same Thandai and made to lose senses, deliberately.
You wouldn’t hear a single cry or objection as that’s how patriarchy has silenced the women, especially those who are bound to their homes.
This is the dark side of Holi no one prefers to speak of. And it is a living truth.
No wonder, girls like me lock their doors the entire day to avoid all that.
Having read this, why not realize our deeds and fix ourselves, and why not the women learn to object for once?
Holi is supposed to celebrate Krishna and frolic in his name and not create an environment that actually turns the whole world black and white.