Celebrating Holi at Muj Goan

Holi turned out to be Holi after all! This past weekend was a combination of 4 important celebrations: Holi for Hindus, Ede for Muslims, Easter for Christians, and Quarter Break for Woodstock people! Karen and I had been so excited to spend our 4 days off at Sarab Talla, but a few days before departure, someone at the village had died. It was not a good idea for us to go. We were bummed.

But luckily, we were able to scramble and ask Muj Goan if we could go there. They said yes! Muj Goan is not one of the villages in our documentary, but it is the utopian village that we visited during our Hike Day. We got there on Friday morning, and Deepika and Bindeshuri were there to greet us. Deepika is trained in organic farming. We stayed at Bindeshuri's house, and Deepika translated.

About two hours after getting there, we were informed that someone from this village had also died, and so there would be no Holi. Wow. But that evening, they were informed that it was a crank call. The grieving parents had driven all the way to Rishikesh to find their son healthy and alive. Phwew!

So this is what ensued:

Holi or the "Festival of Colours" is the holiday where in modern day India, you put colored powder on each other. It's really supposed to be ash, which represents the burned remains of a god's mother. Or something like that, here is the wikipedia entry on Holi.

We were discouraged from "playing" Holi in any city areas because of all the drunk people and the aggressive-ness. Sometimes, people get so excited that they end up throwing rocks, sand, etc. Deepika and Binde looked out for us, so actually many of the kids were initially hesistant of getting color on us. But eventually, they couldn't resist.

Here is a picture of Deepika and Binde sabotaging another farmer with color. Someone else is squirting color at the same time:

(color attack!)

After having a low-key color family event, we headed to the main section of the village. Here, men were partially drunk and singing and dancing.

It was almost impossible to remain clean that day -- if you were seen, you were a canvas waiting to be painted:

(Deepika's father)
(Karen)
(Jeanne)(Dogs are also targets!)
(The ex-Pradhan, coloring Deepika's uncle and his wife)
(These are the bags of powder that were sold.)

Next, we headed to the women's farming cooperative. I think they were working, building a stone wall. They were very polite in applying the color there, though a few people were sabotaged, like some women carrying rocks.

Then, we headed to a field where there was more drumming, dancing, and singing.

We headed back to Binde's family in time for lunch and a nice shower.

(different shades of red)

Holi was only one small portion of this weekend's activities. We spent most of the time, hanging out and getting to know everyone. It was great!

Muj Goan is an example of how villages can adapt to the modern world. They have bathrooms and running water at every house. Solar power. Many of the houses work with a non-profit organization called MGVS which taught them how to use Japanese farming techniques and how to grow Japanese crops. The families have so much land, that they can grow surplus Japanese crops and sell them at a high price to Delhi and Mussoorie. The women are strong mentally and physically, and are the ones involved in this cash crop farming.

Muj Goan has an advantage in that there is A LOT of land. Each family has 2 or 3 houses spread throughout the valley, which they live in for 6 months at a time. The soil is fertile and there are tons of trees, enough for this generation. A river runs through it. (hee hee!)

I don't know how villages like Sarab Talla and Khass Kudoan can deal, when they are already pressed for resources. No matter what, farming life is hard. The modern farming techniques that Deepika went to college for, definitely do help in alleviating the work load. But you still do have to be able to carry 40kg (88 lbs) on your head!

Deepika and Bindeshuri humored us, and showed us how to make a seed bed for hybrid pepper seeds. The plot was maybe the size of a kitchen table. It was great fun as they worked, and I took pictures, ha ha. Karen said that any woman who can make a seed bed is kick ass! It's true. Just picking pebbles out of the dirt was exhausting!

(Karen learning how to hoe.)
(standing between garlic and leek plants)
(Deepika)

The true purpose of a field ("dokra" in Gharwali) is not for farming, however. It is for fashion photos.

Here, the waves of wheat provided opportunities for a magazine centerfold picture.

(gorgeous!)

Anyway, we really got to hang out with the family. We were sad to leave, and they were sad too. Luckily, Deepika and Binde come to Mussoorie often in order to make miso and tofu for the non-profit organization. The proceeds go back to the village.

(a normal day with Deepika's father and his nephew's baby)

(Karen and Deepikda working on Hindi and English)

(Bindeshuri and Jeanne)

(Deepika took this picture of Binde's 11th grade brother.)
(family photo!!!)

If you would like to see all of this weekend's 270 photos, CLICK HERE. (It may actually take a few days for me to upload them all.)