GLIMPSES OF HOLI CELEBRATION AT LAKESIDE

Lakeside is the epicenter of Holi revelers. Photo: LB Thapa

By LB THAPA

Holi is the festival of colors. It is celebrated with much fanfare and excitement. In addition, this excitement is multiplied by several times when the festival is celebrated at the vibrant streets of Lakeside, a famous tourist hub in Pokhara. 

This evening yours truly had visited Lakeside to observe the moods of the people for celebrating Holi, the festival of colors. 

Foreigners celebrating Holi at Lakeside. Photo: LB Thapa

It had amazing sights indeed. Though not many foreigners were seen on the street of Lakeside this year, definitely it was due to the Covid pandemic, however, the streets of Lakeside were jammed with Pokhareli and several domestic visitors.

Well, sorry to say but I saw almost no masks on the faces of Holi revelers. They were walking on the street more like the soldiers of the triumphant army of the Roman Empire. I think now most people are not scared of the covid virus as they used to be some time ago. Looking at the mass of merrymakers on the street of Lakeside, the coronavirus must be fuming with anger. And possibly thinking of taking revenge on the people with a new mutant of coronavirus…who knows, maybe…what do you think?

All photos by LB Thapa...copyright photos   

“Mask on Holi!” screamed a young girl and said, “No Holi can be celebrated with a mask on the face. Today is Holi and we want to forget the horror of coronavirus. Don’t try to make me remember that %@#$ corona”, after saying this the angry girl walked away with her friends. 

Certainly, most people were around the Hallan Chowk of Lakeside, but I was surprised to see, there was equally a huge crowd of people right from Basundhara Park until the entire main road of Lakeside. 

I stopped yet another group of revelers and asked them about their excitement and celebrations of Holi. 

They said, “You can see many young girls and some mature women in our group. We never celebrated Holi this way. But this year we have decided to celebrate it up to the hilt. And why only Holi we would like to celebrate every festival like this way and do you know the reason? It is because of Corona. 

“Corona taught us many harsh lessons of life. It taught us how fragile this life is. It taught us how helpless we are before a tiny virus. So helpless that even our money and the best hospitals could do nothing to save the life of a dying person. It taught us how even our nearest and dearest ones turn their faces in the time of crisis…thus the message is loud and clear…enjoy life as much as you can because we don’t know what will happen tomorrow”.  

Believe me, her powerful words did not only touch my heart but also the kidneys and other vital organs of my body. I found myself speechless and lost in the reverie and when I wanted to say something in her praise, her group had already walked past. 

Her serious philosophy about life had really made me nervous. But luckily, before the nervous breakdown, I saw a young foreign couple. I approached them with a big smile on my face. 

When they saw me coming towards them, the man said rather annoyingly, “Are you a Tuber?”

“What Tuber are you talking about, sir?”

“I mean You Tuber”

“No, sir. I am not a Tuber, I mean You Tuber. I am a writer and I write a Blog. I will write this story of Holi, and tomorrow morning it will be available to read for one and all”. 

“Oh, you write. Then it is ok because I hate YouTube and all those @$#% You Tubers”.

“How similar are our thoughts, sir. I too don’t like You tubers…hi…hi…hi”, I grinned to please him and finally he agreed to pose a photo with his girlfriend. 

I was at the bank of Talbarahi temple, the other side of the shore. The area was filled with so many young and old people. Yes, old people as well. I was a little bit surprised to see many elderly people also enjoying this year’s Holi. 

I took permission and clicked a photo of them. “We are here with our children. They wanted to play Holi. We thought why not celebrate this Holi outside. Then all of us decided to visit Talbari Temple. Now our kids are enjoying Holi after then we will take a boat to the temple”, they said energetically. 

An idol of Lord Hanuman is extremely eye-catching. This idol is made at the bank of the Fewa Lake, near the Royal Palace. The idol is installed on a mound. The idol has no protection from sunlight and rainwater. The other day Pokhara had witnessed nasty hell stones, which had wreaked havoc across the city. However, the idol of Lord Hanuman remained unscathed from the hell of hell-stones. I think those people who are first-time visitors to Pokhara, they must not miss seeing this spectacular idol of Lord Hanuman. 

My prying eyes were continuously looking for more excitement. About that time, I saw a big group of people from our neighboring country India. Actually, they were from Maharastra.  I was very excited to meet them. They were also very friendly and showed interest in talking with me. 

“We are very much enjoying Holi here in Pokhara. In fact, we did not come here with the intention of celebrating Holi. We have come here to see the natural beauty of the Pokhara valley. There are many exotic things in Pokhara of great value. We will stay a few days and explore the Pokhara valley. One thing I would like to add here is that the passion of Indian people about Holi is well known to the world, but the people of Pokhara are also not behind”. 

A group of Indian tourists from Maharastra, Mumbai at Lakeside on the auspicious day of Holi. Photo: LB Thapa

This year’s Holi was different in the sense that there were no hooligans to be seen on the roads. In the past years, several gangs of intoxicated boys could be seen on their motorbikes who would scream and drive their motorbikes recklessly. Moreover, it was common to be seen that they would misbehave with young girls on the street. They would hold them forcefully and smear colors on their faces. Not only this, but they would also try to become physical with them. Thus, girls did not feel safe walking on the street and celebrating Holi with their friends. 

This year the scene was completely changed. No hooligans on the roads and it were due to strict checking of Traffic Police. On top regular police patrolling gave a clear message to such hooligans. As a result, there were no drunk hooligans on the streets with their motorbikes. 

This year’s Holi has come to an end and it was celebrated with much fanfare and excitement. One thing at the end I would like to add here is that Lakeside is the cynosure of all eyes for experiencing the excitement of Holi like nowhere else. So next time when you come to Pokhara on the occasion of Holi then you must visit Lakeside---we will be waiting for you guys.   

LB Thapa is a Pokhara-based freelance writer and author. 

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