Holi Moli that was fun!

After sleeping in until 9, Sita and I crawled out of bed and went downstairs to eat some breakfast. We had a date at 11 with Himanshi (the little girl from last night) and her sisters. We were supposed to be celebrating Holi with her friends and family. The street was a war zone of color. People on the back of motorbikes would throw color at people as they walked, and children were running around with colored water in their toy guns,  spraying the unsuspecting tourists. Men and women were spread out along the side of the street with mounds of colored powder in front of them. We bought one bag of each color and commenced the attack. Many people were very respectful of us and asked if they could put color on us before doing so. Basically, you go up to someone,  say "Happy Holi!" and then smear color on both their cheeks. Then they do the same to you. It only got really rowdy when the children decided you needed to be a part of their war...

Himanshi had Sita and I sit down while the men hooked up big speakers in preparation for a long day of dancing. She brought out plates of food and would have force fed me if I had tried to refuse any! Apparently we needed to have food in our mouth and both hands in order for her to be content.

The day was filled with laughter, color, and overall silliness. The young boys had color fights,  while the teenage boys had dance offs... The women cooked and stayed off to themselves while the older men watched the activity and acted as body guards. We were in a wide alley way, and people (presumably drunk by their appearance) would try to join in. The men of Himanshi's family kept forcing people out, and wouldn't let many into our little party. It really seemed like they wanted us to be able to enjoy ourselves and not get harassed. One guy that kept trying to take pictures with Sita and I got led out into the street in the most unwilling manner. He was NOT happy! It impressed me that they kept those types of people away.

While getting henna done last night, Sita quickly allowed herself to get wrapped up in the idea of getting a tattoo while in India. After relaxing a bit and getting some of the color cleaned off of us, we hired a rickshaw/tuk tuk and went off looking for the tattoo parlor she wanted to go to. We really should have realized this ahead of time, but all the shops were closed due to the Holi festival. We risked life and limb in that rickshaw for nothing! I'm all about new experiences,  but you can only almost get run over so many times before getting fed up. The driving etiquette in this place is terrifying absent. I'm thankful every time I can step out onto solid ground without injury!