So the last 8 days have been awesome. As I went to Braj to attend the grandest holi celebration in India.
If you don't know what is Holi - it is a festival celebrated throughout north India. It is also known as the 'Festival Of Love' signifying the divine love of Radha and Krishna and marks the blossom of spring season in India.
Uniting with others is the soul of this festival. The Holi Festival starts with the Holika Dahan. It is a tradition when people prepare dung cakes along with coconuts and present them to fire in the evening after taking and piling them at a common place in the locality.
And then the following day people toss and caress with colors at each other and give them blessings. And dance and have fun.
Usually we meet with all of our friends and neigbours and friends of friends, also strangers and greet them with colors and in return they greet us with colors as well. Hang around the town, and dodge the water balloons targeted at you by the kids. Let me tell you it's not easy but so much fun.
And the Holi celebrated at Mathura - Vrindavan, is the one of a kind and most honored and revered through out the country.
Mathura is the birthplace of lord Krishna and Vrindavan is the birthplace of Radha.
And the spring Holi mahotsav takes place at these towns and a few villages around it, every year, together referred to as Braj ki Holi.
The Holi festival is on 17th-18th March, i.e today all over India. But the festivities in Braj last for 40 days. Yes, that long. With main events starting a week prior to the actual Holi.
The people from all over the world visit here during this time. To get coloured in the colours of Radha & Krishna. A met some westerners, who claimed to visit here every year.
The Holi calender of Braj is announced at the start of the month. So we planned accordingly, to experience and enjoy the main Holi events that happen around Mathura-Vrindavan every year.
I was fortunate to take part in these three most popular festive events.
- Lathmar Holi In Barsana on March 11th 2022
- Lathmar Holi In Nandgaon on March 12th 2022
- Phoolon Vali Holi & Pichkari & Abir Gulal Holi In Vrindavan on March 14th 2022
And I will be taking you on this soulful & ecstatic journey with me.
Travelling To & Checking In Vrindavan - 10th Of March 2022
We started in the morning of 10th March and took a bus to reach Delhi. Together we were three people. And two more were supposed to meet us at Sarai Kaale kha railway station in New Delhi.
It was a smooth ride till Delhi without any stops.
From Delhi to Mathura You can either travel by government buses, railways or private travelers beside driving on your own. We opted for the private van.
(Private Bus/Van Stop for Mathura/Agra Nearby Sarai-Kale-Kha Railway Station)
It takes you around 2 hours to reach Mathura. The van stopped for refreshment in between and we had some snaks and bevarages. And soon it dropped us under the Mathura flyover.
After having some funny chit chats for their high first quotes. We hired an auto to drop us at pre booked AirBnb in Vrindavan.
It was a half an hour ride.
And we reached Tulsi Niwas.
It was owned and being run by an Italian lady and Indian guy. Both seemed to be the devotees of lord Krishna.
At the front, they had their own living place while the rooms at the back of the house were converted into AirBnb.
This place had a relaxing and soothing vibe to it. There was greenery comprising of flowery plants and trees of multiple kinds.
Going to the right, here's is the entry to our rooms. The ground floor and the the one above it. We rented both. And I took the one at ground.
As soon as you enter, you could seep in and feel the pleasent smell of incence sticks and chandan and greeted with a portrait of lord Ram, Lakshman, Sita and Hanuman, the hindu dieties.
There were three beds in this room and a wooden almirah, also an open kitchen and seperate restroom. We were happy with the amenities we got at this price point.
At the leftmost wall, was this recessd portion adorned with some dieties, holy scriptures and Bhagvad Gita. Providing a sacred and religious feel to the room.
The happiness and excitement marked our faces. Couldn't wait for the next day to arrive.
But my stomach was grumbling and other's too. So we moved out to have some dinner, unite with the energy of this holy place and get a glimpse of the crowd we would be dealing with.
And that's how our day ended. Ready to conquer the Barsana Holi the next day.
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