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Agra: Unlike many
other festivals, Holi, according to pandits and learned scholars
of the Braj area "is the time for gay abandon, for dropping the
artificial barriers, class differences, snobbish or elitist
tendencies and mix around". But, now the festival of 'colours'
sees 'no mixing' as the level of patience is declining and people
are becoming "intolerant".
Culture critic Mahesh Dhakar of Agra said: "Long back the city of
Taj used to organise Maha Moorkh (fool) Sammelans (gathering),
where all important people in town used to gather. They were then
awarded Puruskars and titles of different levels of Moorkhata
(foolishness). The top award was Maha Moorkha. This went on in the
Belanganj area for years."
Shishir Bhagat, one of the owners of the famous 250-year-old
Bhagat Halwai, in Belanganj told IANS: "Times have changed. Those
days the relations were deep and genuine and no one reacted
sharply to Holi frivolties. Weeks in advance, groups of street
urchins would pester pedestrians and passersby, to collect small
donations for the final day celebrations. But now the Holi
celebrations have lost their original flavour and become generally
an indoor club activity. No more mixing with the masses."
With changing lifestyles and values, Holi revelry has taken new
hues: modern, less expressive and boisterous.
"It has become so difficult to laugh your guts out without
artificiality. Earlier it used to be impossible to move out of the
house because of the rowdies stopping everyone, throwing dirt or
demanding money for celebrations. We have gradually become urbane
and civil, but the rural areas continue to engage in full throated
singing and dancing to the beat of dholaks and nagadas," said old
timer Surendra Sharma, president of the Braj Mandal Heritage
Conservation Society.
Liquor has replaced the traditional Thandai and Bhang.
"People gather at common places, birds of a feather flock together
type, but there is very little effort made to break the social
barriers these days," laments social activist Sudhier Gupta.
"Even the municipal corporation organised mela on Holi remains a
detestable demonstration of caste loyalties. Each caste panchayat
puts up its stall where its members greet one another. Definitely
the finer aspects of Holi revelries are all a feature of the
past," added Gupta.
High costs and increasing economic burden on families have also
contributed to limiting the celebrations to just a few hours on
Holi, said home maker Padmini.
In Mathura-Vrindavan, the celebrations are now largely confined to
temples.
"The fervour rarely spills over to the streets. It could be an
invitation for trouble if someone chose to smear gulal or throw
colour on strangers. The geet-sangeet parampara (tradition) is also
on the decline, largely because the conventional Haveli Sangeet of
Braj is not attracting new adherents," explained Bihari Sharma,
young journalist of Vrindavan Kunj.
Holi, also called as Phag, is time for folk dances, songs and
Rasia dangals, a form of poetry peculiar to this region.
Agra being a quintessential Mughal city, can not overlook the rich
tradition of celebrations set by Akbar and Jahangir.
Both Mughal emperors indulged in the merriment and showered gulab
and colours on the revellers. Musical mehfils were held all night
and community bhang drinking was the order of the day.
Urdu poets Nazir Akbarabadi, emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar and so
many others have penned special songs including "phags" to be sung
during celebrations.
Sufi saints Amir Khusrau and Nizammuddin Aulia also sang songs in
pure Persian celebrating the spirit of what was then called
Eid-e-Gulabi, when the royals exchanged gulab, rose water and itr,
while the drummers kept beating their nagadas (big round drums).
Contemporary paintings show Jahangir playing Holi with his wife
Noorjahan. The carnival lasted several days, even during the time
of Bahadur Shah Zafar who had special arrangements made for the
celebrations.
Talking to IANS after receiving the prestigious "Maha Moorkha
Award", at a function held Sunday evening, the National general
secretary of Indian People's Theatre Association, Jitendra
Raghvanshi said:
"Yes each age has to redefine its idiom and forms
of expressions, necessitating re-invention and repackaging of
emotions in various shades. Changes in perception, and levels of
tolerance are factors that seem to be transforming Holi from a
mass festival to a class and caste festival, but these are
temporary phases."
"Eventually the essential spirit of celebration will find new
forms of expression," Raghvanshi added.
(Brij Khandelwal can be contacted at brij.k@ians.in)
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