Raucous Holi celebrations began in earnest on Thursday afternoon, hours before the effigy of Holika was even lit up in many localities of the city.
The celebrations this year are special as for two years the city had to make do with a colourless Holi due to COVID pandemic restrictions and lockdown.
The streets of Dhoolpet, Begum Bazaar, General Bazaar, NM Guda and other areas of the city are now dotted with shops selling colours, sprayers, batasha (coloured candy), masks, and other paraphernalia of Holi revelry.
“I set up the shop five days ago and the business is good. It now feels like Holi,” says Naveen, who has set up an extension of the electrical fixtures shop to sell colours. He also has a sample of the metallic varnish that can be created by adding water to a box of colour. “Some people have a doubt about the colour. I mixed it in water to show it to buyers,” he says.
Yards away, is another retail outlet which has sacks of dry yellow colour. Two young boys from the neighbouring Pardhiwada haggle down the price from ₹160 to ₹145 for a 20-kilogram bag. “We have pooled the money for this. Our friends are also planning to buy, so we came and bought before them,” says Rudresh, who is studying Intermediate at Pragati College. They heave the bag on the two-wheeler and zip away.
Wood, discarded furniture and cow dung cakes were piled into a heap to be lit up at night in Begum Bazaar area. The streets were awash with dry colours as passing revellers joined the residents to celebrate the festival.
While Holi is celebrated with gusto throughout the city, the revelry on the streets of Begum Bazaar, Dhoolpet, Pardhiwada, and Goshamahal with a dominant north Indian population, reaches a different level. A few shops selling thandai laced with bhang and sweets have popped up in Begum Bazaar, while liquor shops have been ordered to stay shut for 48 hours.
“Our celebration will begin once ‘Holika Dahan’ takes place here. After that, there will be non-stop revelry till tomorrow evening. My shop will be open but different people will man it at different times,” says Yog Singh.
