Holi, India’s Festival of Colors

by Willy Volk on

Holi, also known as India’s Festival of Colors, begins on the Phalgun Purnima, or the night of the first full moon in late February or early March. For those of you who haven’t looked up at the night sky recently, that means it’s this weekend.

Believed to have originated as long ago as 300BC, the legend-soaked event celebrates the arrival of spring and the promise of fertile fields. It also scares away laziness and sickness in the lives of Hindus. As part of the celebrations, Hindus enjoy bonfires (to kill bacterias in the body), throw brightly-colored powders in the air (to invoke the richness and bounty of spring), and drink and eat bhang (um…just for fun). In other words, it’s sort of like Mardi Gras for Hindus. Except without all the ta-tas.

Don’t understand what’s so fun about throwing around colored powder? Check out this ecstatic, exuberant clip from Mangal Pandey: The Rising and marvel at all the kaleidoscopic color.

Can’t make it to India this weekend? Apparently, Queens hosts an Americanized version of the event this Saturday and Sunday. FYI, don’t eat too much hot buttered bhang and collapse on your mother’s clean sheets. This is certainly not the time.

Brick Lane: Best Indian Food Outside of Bangladesh

by Iva Skoch on

Contrary to popular belief, not all food in London is bad. Indian food is, in fact, excellent. The best way to sample it is to head over to Brick Lane, a street in the East Side of London, just steps away from Liverpool Street or Aldgate East tube stops.

Brick Lane (also known as Banglatown) is actually the center of the Bangladeshi community, nonetheless, this is where people go to satisfy their Indian food craving. It is one of the few things in London which won’t make you go broke in two hours. You can get a meal here for 5 GBP.

I come here every time I am in London and I try a different place every time. I went again this past Saturday night and was not disappointed. Remember that some of the restaurants have no liquor license, so you have to bring your own booze. Make sure to try the sweet, coconut nan. It complements the super-spicy vindaloo (or “vindy”) dishes very nicely.

Jain Festival on the Beeb

by Erik Olsen on

The Jain Festival in India is one of the largest and
most colorful in the world, and this audio slideshow on the BBC does a fine job bringing out both the vividness
of the event, but also the deep philosophy of the Jani faith (whose abiding principle is a sort of "live and let
live" edict, that one should have respect for life). The photos that accompany the piece roll along very nicely,
illustrating the narration and really feeding the eyes with stunning images. In the best case scenario, this would have
been done in video….but then again, I do video so I am biased.

No matter. The audio takes you briefly
through the festival, with the author and narrator, Karoki Lewis, at first huffing it up a hill to reach the festival
and then talking to various participants about the importance and meaning of the festival. Altogether nicely done.

Bush to Dis Taj

by Erik Olsen on

So President Bush is doing a little bit of traveling
himself this week, heading to India for a whirlwind tour. The purpose of the trip is to stir up business and
let the Indians see that the President doesn’t live up to his horrible reputation in the rest of the world. In a way,
the mere fact he is taking the trip helps, because he is widely known as one of the least-traveled Presidents in modern
history.

Some folks are making a to do about the fact he isn’t visiting the Taj Mahal, probably
India’s most popular and well-known site. Uh, so what? Folks, I’ve been to the Taj, and while it is indeed beautiful,
breath-takingly so, in fact, it is located in a rather little miserable place called Agra. I did a story about Agra a year or two ago
for MSNBC.com, and the idea was to find things to do in Agra out side of the Taj Mahal. That wasn’t easy. Yes, there is
the Red Fort and such, but the fact is Agra is a impoverished, dismal little place where the hucksters and touts are out
in great swarming legions, so I forgive the President, this time, for passing on the Taj.