Some will avoid mingling for the third year in a row. Some will celebrate their favourite festival on a small scale, maybe even without colours. But others are gearing up to throw caution — and their masks — to the wind and play to make up for the two lost years.
Holi has come calling and people will today take the final call on whether to go out and play or stay back at home this time as well.
No holds barred
“Do saal ke dil ka bharaas nikal denge iss baar,” promised Uniworld City resident Shafaq Siddiqui, as her friend Richa Sharma added: “There’s talk of another Covid wave coming in July so we must play our hearts out this season itself.”
There are many who second them and so Salt Lake Sanskritik Sansad is going all out to organise a Holi bash at BF Park. “The Holika dahan is a religious ritual and we had to perform it the last two years even if we had to cancel Holi celebrations. But elaborate plans have been made for Holi this year,” said Suresh Gupta, convener of the group and a member of its cultural committee.
The government lifted the night curfew on Thursday specifically to allow devotees to burn the auspicious pyre after midnight. And today at BF Park revellers will play Holi and do rain dance in a foam pool, to the beats of a DJ and lots more. “At a time when lakhs have been gathering around the country for elections, how can we single out Holi to be against Covid protocol? Before the pandemic, this event used to draw 4,000 to 5,000 revellers and this year once again we expect them to enjoy wholeheartedly,” said Gupta.
Colours on sale outside Baisakhi Abasan Debasmita Bhattacharjee
Market watch
For some, the celebrations began early. “It seems children can’t wait for Holi this year and our buses have to bear the brunt,” said a conductor on a bus on route number 215A that crosses Salt Lake. “Three days before the festival kids started aiming water balloons at the moving bus and now our seats are wet!”
Markets too are stocked up with colours and water pistols. “Sales are not as high as in pre-Covid days but it’s the best we’ve seen in the last three years,” says Rony Saha of Shubham Dashakarma Bhandar in AE Market. He’s betting big on colourful wigs, masquerade masks, pichkaris that let off sirens when filling water and a gadget that fills multiple balloons with water at a time and can be flung in the air together. “They’re all Chinese, by the way,” he adds.
At Baisakhi, the store Needs has got dissolvable colours that resemble medicine capsules, new colours like white and new shades of green. “Herbal colours are selling the best,” said Netai Chandro Debnath of Needs at Baisakhi.
“Considering that prices doubled, sales aren’t too bad,” said Santosh Pradhan of CK Market’s Ma Sita Dashakarma Bhandar. “We expect best sale on Holi itself and shall set up a stall outside the market for customers.”
Playful but careful
Several blocks like EC, CK-CL and AJ shall hold probhat pheri today, followed by some abir-playing and feasting. “But we are trying to play safe,” said one of the cultural conveners of AJ Block Lalan Saha. “For instance, instead of the 40ft pandal we usually erect for this function, we are building a 50ft one to ensure distancing.”
They will not go all out and play with colours either. The abir will be used only for tikas or to sprinkle at the feet of elders and seek blessings.
At Eastern High in New Town, Rajashik Kar, president of the cultural sub-committee, said the best practices adopted during the pandemic will continue for their Holi gathering. “For instance, the meals will be cooked in-house and our housekeeping staff will be cooking and serving wearing masks, gloves and surgical caps. But while about 300 residents have signed up for meals, 40 per cent are still wary of dining together. They have asked for food parcels to be sent to their apartments.”
Before the pandemic, this complex used to host a pool party on Holi — an attraction that will make a comeback this year.
They will worship Radha-Krishna idols, sculpted by Sanatan Rudra Pal, and ladies will sell homemade food and self-sourced saris at an in-house fair. “But there is still some hesitancy regarding cultural programmes. Not all are ready to perform yet. Traditionally our Poila Baisakh event is held on a grand scale and we are hoping that by then they will all come forward,” said Kar.
In New Town, BA Block is one of the few blocks where the block association has invited residents to come and play Dol in the block park. But there is a clause — they cannot bring their own colours. “We do not allow play with liquid colours. We will provide abir for everyone to play with. There will also be snacks for all afterwards,” said Prabir Mazumdar, block secretary.
No fresh orders will be placed as about five or six kilos of abir are left over. “We had cancelled celebrations in 2020 as a precautionary measure even after making arrangements. And last year of course we did not dare. But this time, people are quite confident in view of the drastically reduced active Covid cases now,” Mazumdar added.
A cultural programme will also be held in the evening with participation of residents.
There will be no dunking of revellers in the swimming pool this year at Greenwood Elements. “In other years, playing with colours in the pool is a featured activity in our announcement. We even fill the pool with coloured water. This time, we have not reopened the pool to swimmers yet. But since the changing rooms will also be closed, we will allow people who want to take a dip to clean up before going home for a bath to get in the pool,” said Dhrubajyoti Basak, president of the apartment complex in Action Area II of New Town.
The Holi-special community dinner, which caused a gathering of 120-150 residents in the community hall, has also been cancelled.
No guest artistes have been invited. “Children who want to play will be asked to go to the open ground. A resident will sing baul songs. After that, it will be an open mic,” Basak said.
Greenwood Elements faced a phase during the third wave when 30-40 residents were infected at the same time. “No one wants to go back to that situation. We are continuing disinfection of lifts, though the frequency has come down from twice daily to thrice a week. The paddle sanitisers are still there near lifts and common rooms,” Basak said.
Today BG Block will be holding its first big event in two years, aside from Durga puja.
“Such events got at least 60 people pre-pandemic but this time we are expecting 40, most of them in the 40 to 55 age group. Senior citizens are still not confident of coming,” said Suparna Mukherjee, executive committee member of the block association. In the evening, Mukherjee will be attending another Dol get-together with friends.
No to mask, yes to Holi
Some blocks are celebrating but not without worries. “We shall have nyara pora, Holika dahan on Thursday and Holi and cultural programmes the next morning,” secretary of AE (Part 1) Tapas Sengupta had said earlier this week. “Our notices ask participants to wear masks but unlike last year, this time we are not confident of enforcing this order. If we reprimand one person, he will point at 10 others, saying they are not wearing masks either. They say corona has gone and this is a dangerous misconception.”
Last weekend, a CG Block children’s activity centre, Just Kidding, organised a Holi bash for juniors over two days. The highlights were playing with coloured water in the jacuzzi and preparing one’s own herbal colours from vegetable extracts. “Schools have opened so what’s the harm in playing Holi in a clean, sanitised environment?” asked Pragati Gadodia, one of the partners of the centre. “We couldn’t ask the children to play Holi in masks so we ensured our staff always did so.”
Residents check out colours ahead of Holi at CK Market. Brinda Sarkar
Iskcon devotees rejoice in a shower of petals at Uniworld City’s Phoolon ki Holi.
Residents check out colours ahead of Holi at CK Market. Brinda Sarkar
No colours please
Some groups are celebrating without colours. One such is Salt Lake Lok Sanskriti that invited members to a “Phoolon ki Holi” at Nicco Park big lawn on Wednesday.
“When we took a call about the celebration about a month back, Covid was on the wane. But we were sure that members wouldn’t be comfortable sharing the same water to play with others. And as a cultural and social group, we couldn’t send out a wrong message encouraging people to let their guard down,” said secretary Kamlesh Kejriwal.
So their event had traditional music, a sumptuous feast but in place of gulal, there was a shower of Marigold petals instead. The event was for members and trustees only and so the organisers had a control on the crowd as well.
Iskcon devotees of Uniworld City too celebrated Phoolon ki Holi on Sunday. “No one is scared of Covid any more and people want to meet after two long years. We had more than 100 people joining us and if it wasn’t for a cricket tournament going on in our complex at the same time, it would have drawn many more,” said Priti Sharma, who was helping organise the event. They had bhajans and discourses before the shower of petals. Nobody at the gathering could be seen wearing a mask.
At GD Park, Ward 34 planned a cultural programme for Holi on Thursday. “We have five dance groups, seven music groups and not one of them had a single question about Covid. They all jumped at the offer,” said the cultural convener of the event before the event. “While most centres are sending 10 to 15 participants one dance school is sending 26. It seems their tots are excited at the thought of performing Ore grihobasi on a real stage and couldn’t be stopped.”
Children learn to prepare herbal colours at Just Kidding. Debasmita Bhattacharjee
A customer chooses from various colourful wigs at AE Market. Picture by Brinda Sarkar
No thanks
AK Block used to hold a prabhat pheri, with participants singing in chorus while roaming the streets of the block. But that has been suspended this year in view of the high number of fatalities in the pandemic period. “In course of the procession, we would stop in front of individual houses, sing and apply abir on residents who came out. But with 48 deaths in the last two years in a block of just 250 families, it would be difficult to remember to be discreet in front of houses with bereaved families,” said general secretary of the residents’ association Aritra Ranjan Sen.
BK Block too has called off celebrations. “Holi is a festival enjoyed most by children but they are yet to be vaccinated against Covid. So we don’t want to take a chance,” said block secretary Rajarshi Chanda. Residents are happy with the decision. “Besides, Holi on a Friday means an extended weekend and those who want to celebrate are taking off for vacations.”
Additional reporting by Sudeshna Banerjee and Debasmita Bhattacharjee
Revelry Roster
A lady taking a pick of water pistols at a shop near Baisakhi Abasan. Picture by Debasmita Bhattacharjee.
Basantotsab
Where: Rabindratirtha, New Town
When: 7am
What: Kanikadhara of Santiniketan, carrying on the legacy of Kanika Bandyopadhyay, will put up a cultural programme
Sroddhyarghyer Basanta
Where: FD Park
When: 6pm
What: Tribute to Lata Mangeshkar, Sandhya Mukhopadhyay and Bappi Lahiri by guest artistes followed by songs of spring by Khola Hawa