Lathmar Holi at Barsana

A lot many of us have played Holi in our lives. Some have not for various reasons. And most have us have played Holi living in the cities, played with friends and family. Holi is all about celebrations and camaraderie. A festival of colours where each grain of colour mixes with the others symbolising harmony among people. But Holi over the years, particularly in the cities, has degenerated into something else altogether. There is shameless harassment of women, the colours have become synthetic and for a large part, become a festival to be scared of because of all the hooliganism associated with it. Hooliganism that has nothing to do with the festival, but with those who use the canvas of the festival to indulge in absoluet nonsense.

A trip to Barsana and participating in the celebration of Holi there will take you back to the time when Holi was played as intended. The whole community participates and there is no hooliganism. Complete strangers smother each other with colour, hugs are exchanged and praises are raised to Lord Krishna and his favourite consort Radha. Actually Barsana is where Radha used to live and Krishna used to live in Nandgaon, less than ten kilometers away. The practice of Holi in Barsana dates back to those times and the traditions of Lathmar Holi continues from days of myth and legend, right up to this present day.

The small town of Barsana with a population of around 10,000 transforms in itself at this time of the year when literally lakhs of people from all over the country, and indeed the world, come here to witness a celebration of Holi that is unique for this village. Holi in Barsana is unique for the story that plays out every year.

Legend has it that Krishna stole the clothes of the gopis as they were bathing in the pond. Radha and her friends decided to teach Krishna a lesson and beat him up with sticks, or lathis. The occasion of Holi re enacts this story when men from Nandgaon impersonating Krishna come to Barsana to play Holi with Radha and the women of Barsana impersonating Radha beat Krishna up. The men are not supposed to retaliate while the women rain blows on them, quite aggressively and with all their vengeance I might add. In fact I saw a couple of bamboo sticks actually split wide open in the process. The men parry the blows with leather shields as they sit on the ground, with heavily padded turbans on their heads, waiting for the blows to stop.

It is interesting to note that only the wives of Barsana participate in the "lathi charge", the sisters and daughters do not.

The day following the Lathmar Holi at Barsana, the entire scene is repeated when the men from Barsana go to Nandgaon to get beaten up by the women (Radhas) of Nandgaon. All in good humour, but entirely aggressive and violent, the Barsana Holi is an experience one cannot afford to miss.

For a small town with narrow alleys and an infrastructure built to cater to a small population, it is immensely well-geared to handle the hundreds of thousands of people that converge on the village. The Police bandobast is top rate and intervention is immediate at any sign of impropriety.

On the road towards Agra from Delhi and about 20 kilometers short of the turn towards Vrindavan there is a road to the right that leads to Barsana 17 kilometers away. Reach early and revel in the gaiety throughout the day, ending with the spectacular Lathmar Holi of Barsana.

Happy Holi. Radhey Radhey. Banke Bihari Ki Jai.