As a kid Holi meant colors and games and fun. Growing up I enjoyed this festival with my cousins and siblings and the best part used to be the togetherness we felt. It mostly was a   family thing for us. We never left the house to play with other people. So even friends during Holi were limited. Here is what I remember.

The eve of Holi was the Holika. On the street, usually at a forecorner the young boys would collect firewood a few days before the actual day. On the eve of Holi that pile would be lit and puja performed a little after midnight. It was fun getting dressed to go out in the middle of the night. The morning would mean fun with colors.

We would fill big containers with water and mix color in it. It was free for all. Everyone contributed but made sure that they had some saved for the last minute. We used water guns to spray each other and even the elders were not spared. We also filled ballons with water and threw them at each other from a distance. That hurts!! When the water gun got a little easy tp tackle buckets would be filled with water and we soaked up every one.

Once everything was colored and nobody recognized any body it was time for food. Gujia and Samosa. Gujia is a sweet, and samosa is salty. We seldom cared for other things on the menu. Thandai is the official drink of the festival and some of it was mixed with bhang for the grown- ups to enjoy.

Late in the afternoon we would finish the left over paint and then go take a long bath. Most of it came off but what remained was to show off. It meant how much fun you had. I remmeber always feeling sleepy after all that. A long nap seemed the most reasonable thing to do.

Late in the evening we would visit friends and greet them with a little gulal on their foreheads or another round of dry holi would ensue. We came back fast so we could entertain people at our house too. That was fun.

Nobody was allowed to sleep that night. We had fun playing games, dancing, singing and eating all night.

Happy Holi everyone..