The Holi Colour Festival!

I really should have written about this ages ago seeing as I went in August but since then I have just been so busy it slipped my mind until recently a friend of mine suggested a write a bit about my experience there. The idea of gathering in a place dressed head to toe in white, armed with nothing but beers and packets of powder paint seemed to be the latest craze during the UK summer. The idea stems from the Hindu Religious festival where spreading colour means you are also spreading love. I’m not sure that spreading “love” is quite the same meaning which has been taken on in the UK (unless you count random boys coming up to you and putting their hands over your boobs with the pretence that they were spreading round the colours, as love).

To be honest I was a bit dubious as to how long I would last, as the festival was an afternoon thing and started at 12. As is typical in the English style the first things which went through everyone’s heads were a) we are not going to get there at 12 because we don’t have time to pre-drink and b)we have to make sure we have enough cash to get drinks there because we know we will cave anyway.  I can’t really remember what time we did end up getting there but I want to say that it was sometime around 4 in the afternoon and we stayed until about 9 then made the ridiculous journey back from Wembley Area to Clapham to head out to Infernos.

I needn’t have worried, we got there just as the good DJ’s started their sets, and everyone was going crazy with their paint! Not to mention someone had the ingenious idea that we should buy a bottle of water and throw that over ourselves in order to let the paint run and stick. One thing I would say is that if you want pictures then find an old phone to take with you, the powder breaks things like cameras and it’s not really worth the risk.  But its such good fun I would recommend it to anyone and having been here are a few things I would recommend you take/ leave behind

1)      Water – free to take in, makes the paint stick and great to throw in the face of any unwanted person with wandering hands
2)      Coins rather than notes, easier to use at the bar and don’t get wet
3)      Avoid taking bags – mine still has bits of the bloody paint on it L
4)      Old phone for photos – preferably one that you don’t mind loosing or getting broken!
5)      Old clothes you do not mind ruining – the whiter the better.
6)    A good attitude, you will get messy. you will get drunk and you will be scrubbing paint of yourself for the next week.

So my advice is to get together a group of friends, Google your nearest holi colour festival and get planning!!

x
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