Celebrities and politicians wished citizens of the nation, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeting, “My best wishes to all on Holi. Happy Holi to all of you!” President Pranab Mukherjee sent a message that Holi represented “our diverse multi-cultural society and the spirit of tolerance and harmony that has been the essence of our culture and civilisation.”
Holi is a festival to celebrate the coming of spring, after winter. Groups of revelers usually come together to cover each other in colored powder, or spray each other with colors mixed with water. Children have their share of fun too, throwing water balloons at passers-by, and playing pranks on unsuspecting people. Adults meanwhile take a bit of bhang, the Hindi word for cannabis, and exchange sweets with friends and relatives.
Other countries joined in the revelry too, from unexpected quarters. Pakistan, a Muslim-majority country that has traditionally been at loggerheads with India, saw Holi being celebrated. The government of the province of Sind, declared a public holiday on Holi, for the first time. Individuals also got into the act. Wahid Khan, a young man from Karachi, Pakistan’s commercial capital played Holi with his Hindu friends in a church in the city. On his way back home, he decided to try a social experiment and boarded a public bus to see what people’s reactions would be. He posted his conversation with a fellow traveler on his Facebook page.
“Uncle: what? So you celebrated Holi? And rest of them were Muslims as well?
Me: Yes, and some of our friends were Hindus and we celebrated Holi in a church.
Uncle: Beta, you are a Muslim and…
(There was another uncle sitting in the seat behind us, he interrupted): Oh bhai, if colors bring these kids together and they can celebrate it together with the minority, why do you have to bring in religion? That’s a great thing.
Uncle: Well, we were raised by telling us that Hindu and Muslims cannot be together.
(The other uncle shakes his head)
Me: That is where everything went wrong. Happy Holi! Uncle laughs. It was a great day and glad to see Pakistan accepting other cultures and religions!”
Khan’s post has gone viral, and he has received many messages of appreciation and congratulations. Khan explained that he was just grateful to be involved in something that brought diversity, tolerance and peace. Khan, who goes by the name, Udas95 on Facebook, has since received over 12,000 friend requests.
