As for the mythological story,Prahalad a staunch devotee of Vishnu was the envy of his Daemon father. The father asked his sister to assassinate him and she wore her fire proof dress and took Prahaladh into the burning flames. You can guess what happened. Fire proofing not good enough and the demise of the Daemon sister Holika is what Holi is all about.
Here in Belfast celebration was arranged on Sunday the 20th of March at a favourite spot of mine. The St.Georges market was a central to the city and an excellent venue. I was surprised to find a reasonable long queue outside.Its was not just Indians there, every one in all possible colour and form were there.Welcomed inside by few pretty Punjabi girls. The gratifying feeling of having a long 'Teeka' (vermilion powder) on the forehead set the mood for Holi. Inside there was a huge crowd.
A thousand I must say. The stage was set and what a treat to the eyes! English and Indian girls dressed in traditional Punjabi dresses performing a great dance number.Later came the Bangara music and a superb performance by the lads from Birmingham was exceptional. Indians there could not keep themselves from shaking a leg or two. I now am assured that North Indians do have a better hang of dancing as compared to the South Indians.
The ladies too were having a great time. The local Irish folks loved the music too and the DJ was doing a terrific job. Finally at 4 pm it was time to get colourful. A ring was set up and people got into it and coloured themselves crazy. I could find more Irish folks in there compared to Indians. I would never get in there with the new camera that I was carrying.At the end of the day when folsk stepped out there were unaware passers by astonished wondering what ever happened to them. What happened was they just got colourful ;-)
Here is a glimpse for you
