Holi 2020

Sometimes on our March trips to India our schedule matches up with Holi, and sometimes it doesn't. Last year, sadly, it didn't, this year, happily, it did. Now, just having the calendar agree doesn't necessarily mean that we can turn the students loose on Holi or Holi loose on the students. Our guide, Inder, appropriately enough, is averse to putting a bunch of American students, especially the female ones, in the middle of the Holi mosh pit, which tends to be bastions of remarkably inappropriate groping, which I explain carefully to the students as the reason why we're not going out into the streets. Luckily, the truly excellent Mohit figured out a nice compromise, and we were invited over to a Holi party given by a lovely family in Agra. Almost universally the students testified that it was their favorite part of the trip.

We arrived for a brief stop by the night before, to collect our Holi hats and t-shirts and to watch the lighting of the ceremonial fire.

And we came back the next day for the party, dressed in our lovely traditional pajamas that we had worn to the Taj Mahal. Here are Adi, Mohit and Jessica in the midst of the lovely chaos.

I can't imagine that Aidan will ever have a happier moment.

And Sara, who may have just dumped have a bag of Holi colors on her favorite professor.

I've figured out that Holi is some odd combination of Thanksgiving, Passover and a five year old's birthday party. Here we are in the backyard about the time that the water balloons arrived.

The truly excellent Steve a little Holi worse for wear, and living his best life.

Luckily my super stealth abilities allowed me to slide through unnoticed.

The crew having way too much fun.