Holi Color Wars!

HOLI! Where can we even begin? Holi is the Hindu celebration of Spring-time and vibrant color. Of all of the subcontinent’s eccentric celebrations, Holi is one of the most unique, bizarre and exhilarating. ‘Kids from 1 to 92’ take to the streets with bags full of colored powder, eggs galore and water balloons and super-soakers filled with paint.  No one escapes the color wars… and everyone secretly LOVES getting dirty. Even after a 10-minute chase across the village fields and a smashed egg on the forehead, you always hear a genuine “thank you” from the victim. 

Although Holi is a celebration of good overcoming evil, the light of Spring overcoming the darkness of Winter, by the end of the day everyone’s beautiful, colorful faces and glowing spirits morphed into contorted, demonic creatures… exhausted and confused after a long battle. 

Much to our surprise, the Holi celebration began the minute the bell rang at school on the Friday before Holi

We weren't prepared to retaliate, but at least Cassie had her game face on

On Saturday when our sister Laxmi woke us up at 7AM, already colorful, we knew it was time...

Before breakfast, our younger brother Pratham caught Cassie off gaurd

Holi began in a dignified manner- fun, colorful, gentle.  Our Ugandan friend Elijah enjoys the calm before the storm

 Our Nepali siblings Pratistha and Pratik share a tender moment before the war really began 

No more Mr. Nice Guy, after Avi egged our brother Prajwal- the principal of our village school

It's on!

It is hard to believe that Nepalese could have more fun on any other day of the year

Often serious and hardworking, our Nepali uncle Arjun let loose on Holi

Even Uncle Bhim, the most successful and admired businessman in the village, unleashed his goofy and affectionate self

Life continues as normal for some; the Dutch volunteers took a break from playing Holi to help our neighbors plant a new rice crop

Everyone gets a little closer when you play Holi

When Cassie's hair effectively turned into a protective helmet, we were ready to take to the streets 

As we left our house we were met by a motorcycle gang, ready for war 

Morning time enemies become allies when threatened by an oncoming mob

Minutes later we all joined forces for a village-wide dance party

We had the opportunity to avenge our students from the day before

No one is safe on Holi, as the air becomes thick with color!

As the day progresses, the demons come out in all of us

Where's Waldo? For the first time in 5 months our white faces no longer stood out in our village!

Whether good or evil wins in the end, Holi is simply pure fun for everyone.

Care to join us next year?

Another Celebration, already??

A trip to Nepal would not be considered authentic unless you celebrate a traditional wedding, birthday or religious festival… at least once per week. Some countries would measure the success of their nation in terms of political and economic stability, social equality and a high literacy rate. While these values are certainly appreciated and held in high regard by Nepalese, a successful Nepali week has significantly more to do with how many days off you have for festivals than the latest Nasdaq report. Hard work and progress are important, but celebration ALWAYS takes precedence. 

Cassie's birthday begins with a morning-time prayer ceremony

She is blessed with flowers and then instructed to throw them in each direction into the wind

Our little brother Pratham receives blessings on his 2nd birthday

Avi gets a tikka at Cassie's morning birthday ceremony

People bring offerings of fruit, money, potatoes, eggs, bread and flowers for the birthday person and for the gods

But one party isn't enough... students were sent home early so our school's staff could throw a party for Cassie

Even 2 parties aren't enough, so the whole family and town came over at night for Cassie's 3rd birthday party of the day

It is Nepali tradition at birthday parties for the person celebrating to feed a piece of cake to each of the guests, and then each of the guests feed the birthday person in return...

Our Nepali sisters Laxmi and Pratistha celebrate Laxmi's birthday

Our brother Pratit feeds cake to Mayke, a Dutch volunteer, at his birthday party

Laxmi stuffs Cassie's face at her party

No Nepali celebration is complete without a little music and dancing!

Pratit debuting his recently learned 'Happy Birthday' for Cassie's party

Avi plays sitar at a school celebration for Saraswati, the goddess of music and learning

Nepalis teach our Ugandan friends how to get down, Nepali Style.

Wedding season is fun, but long and kind of exhausting... especially as all Newari women have 3 weddings and the whole town is invited to each one. First marriage in adolescence is to fruit, second marriage is to the sun, and third is to a man.

School is dismissed early so the entire Prajwal School staff can attend the 2nd wedding of a student

For the wedding ceremony, the groom's family will travel to the bride's house. At the bride's house a Brahmin priest will conduct the ceremony and then they will process back to the groom's parent's house for another huge party, and where the newly wed couple will reside for the rest of their lives. 

If a family has the means, they will hire a marching band to process with the groom's family to the bride's house. 

A priest conducts a long ceremony while guests wander around, catching up, taking photos and cracking jokes

Bride and groom are not supposed to make eye contact during the ceremony, even in the infrequent case of a 'love marriage' 

As always, a night on the town means hanging out with our students!

Younger brother of the bride is dressed to impress

Varanasi: Life in the Raw

The traveler’s Bible (AKA ‘Lonely Planet’) begins their chapter on Varanasi with the following 2 words: “Brace Yourself”

Varanasi is the holiest city on the entire subcontinent, attracting thousands and thousands of Hindu pilgrims each day to bathe in the holy Ganges River, to cleanse themselves of all sins- and assure a better position in their next life. It is also the most auspicious place to be cremated so humans (both dead and alive) come from all over the world to die and/or burn on the banks of the Ganges.    

A flood of colorful women take the holy bathing 'ghats' by storm

Before bathing, this group of pilgrims sings, dances and prays together

Hindu priests perform puja, or ritual prayers

Men and women spend their lives in ashrams on the banks of the river

Women travelers wait with their bags to take a dip

Our guidebook claims that "water that is safe for bathing contains less than 500 faecal coliform bacteria in every liter of water. Samples show that this part of the Ganges has 1.5 million!! And the river is so heavily polluted in parts that the water is actually septic- no dissolved oxygen exists"

Despite the pollution, most pilgrims brush their teeth, quench their thirst, or do laundry alongside the bathers

Even cows are purified on the banks

Visiting Varanasi's cremation or 'burning' ghats is shocking and honest. You can meet elderly and sick living in ashrams above the river waiting to die, workers weighing the expensive wood and precisely stacking just the right amount to match the body's weight and family members waiting for haircuts along the river- as before lighting a deceased wife, child or parent's funeral pyre, you must shave all the hair off your head, face, body.

Coming from a culture which tends to 'sugar coat' or 'hide behind closed doors' the less appealing aspects of life, it is difficult enough to come face to face with burning corpses. But the most shocking part is to experience the blurry line between living, dying and brushing your teeth. Amidst the burning bodies and air thick with smoke of human flesh, you can find men playing cards, children laughing and playing sports, Hindu priest smoking hashish, children black in ashes spending their days scavenging for jewelry that did not burn, cows and goats grazing and newborn puppies wrestling.  

Special wood is shipped (actually rowed) in from all over India for the cremations

A man prepares for a family member's cremation

Signs of new life spring up everywhere

Children rush to the river after school to play cricket

All aspects of life occur simultaneously under the mystique of Lord Shiva

While some spend their lives in ashrams in Varanasi,

Others come just to see and experience a different world.

Other pilgrims come for the 'Supreme Deluxe Vegetarian plate'... shocking in its own right.

Sometimes serene, sometimes overwhelming, always colorful, Varanasi is a place you'll never forget.

We chose not to bathe, and maybe we'll pay for it in our next lives... When you visit, you can make that decision for yourself.