How To Celebrate Holi in The Time of Corona- 2021
Holi is one of the biggest festivals in India and is supposed to be played in a certain way. If your face is not dunked in a bucket full of colour, it’s not Holi. If there are no water guns aimed at you, it’s not Holi. If you are not rubbing gulaal at each other’s faces, it’s not Holi.
But in the time of pandemic and rising corona cases, it’s not a good idea to venture out to celebrate the festival even when your friends come to your door.
So, how are you supposed to celebrate it and have fun? I am putting down a list of a few ‘other than regular’ stuff that we can engage in on this long weekend with our family, close friends, and kids!
Artwork
As Holi is associated with colours, one can think of exploring the artistic side in each one of us. Arrange a canvas (of a size that suits), available over the counter at any art supplies shop, lots of colours, few brushes or other alternatives like cotton balls or napkins or other DIY stuff, and a whole lot of imagination! Everyone can get together and use a big canvas for this or each to its own and create a masterpiece which can be put up in their rooms. Not to mention some DIY videos too can help, but creating your piece has its charm! One can also look at creating street art and paint the wall with a design or a motif.
Here’s what Google did with a few street artists in 2017- https://artsandculture.google.com/theme/three-artists-celebrate-holi/TgIiG9RiCocaJA?hl=en
Colouring Book Competition
If creating a masterpiece from the scratch seems too much then what one can do is to organise a colouring book competition in the house. Be it Mandala or nature, there are a lot of pre-designed books available on Amazon. Colouring books are already a rage. Order them, have some colour pens or crayons and you are all set for the competition. This activity will engage the kids and older persons alike. One can keep a small prize for the winner to keep everyone engaged and bring the best out! In fact, a couple in New Mexico created a coloring book to help children understand the importance of wearing a face covering. How creative!- https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/new-mexico-couple-creates-coloring-book-to-show-kids-importance-of-masking-up/6024118/
Face Masks
Another activity to spend time is on creating our masks. We all know that we have to live with wearing masks for some more months for sure. Why not try and create one of your own. This would help in bringing out your creative side and also create something personal which we can use as a gift to our loved ones. Here’s one of the videos to create a DIY face mask- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlTTiQnSq_4
Group Meditation
This festival is technically celebrated for 2 days. On the first night, a bonfire is built. It is believed that we can put away all our negative thoughts and it will burn away the way evil Holika was burnt. The second day marks the celebrations with colours. However, what we all miss to note is that the night of the ‘Holika Dahan’ is one of the four meritorious Maharatris, great nights. The positive spiritual energies on this night are great and can help us on our path of spirituality. It is believed that meditation, manifestation, or a simple prayer with gratitude on this night has extraordinary effects. Ask your folks to be ready and perform a group meditation to balance all chakras in your body, pay gratitude to mother earth and let your soul embark on the spiritual journey! For, arranging a group meditation, you may contact – aashna.rohira@gmail.com
Organic Colours
You can also find an alternate way to play Holi with colour, and you can create them in the house. These organic colours can be easily made out of flowers. This is an activity that will however require some things to be done before Holi as you need to get flowers of various colours and dry them in the sun for 2-3 days. Once done, you are ready to grind them on Holi. Add a few drops of rose water or sandalwood oil. Mix all the ingredients again and there is your gulal. Enjoy the festival with family without too much worry.
So folks, go ahead, choose the activity that suits you the most, and enjoy Holi with your family. Don’t forget to have some Gujias and Thandai too!
