Udat gulal lal bhayo badal
Aaj biraj mein holi re rasiya
Holi the festival of colours is celebrated by Raja and Praja alike. Symbolic of the seamless love shared by Radha with her Krishna, the festival also signifies the end of evil and the triumph of Narasimha over Hiranyakashyap. Holi also heralds the arrival of Phagun and calls for asking the Gods for a good harvest.
Holi with Le Creuset.
City Palace Holi.
Kangra miniature.
Holi is one festival that the royal families celebrate in a distinct style. Right from dressing in a particular style, burning the Holika the night before, drenching themselves in colours made from flowers and following a series of rituals. As the idea of Covid seemed to settle like dust around frayed nerves and people after years decided to play Holi in its most engaging form, we catch up with Holi as celebrated in two regal homes of India.
The first stop was Jaipur where the royal family helmed by HH Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh sees Holi as that time of the year that must be celebrated in utmost style. Holi 2022 saw over 250 guests join the family in the celebration. First of all, were the families of the many nobles who were part of this Princely court and now live in the various Havelis of Jaipur. Then there was the hoi polloi of the city, young and celebrated people, many of whom are jewellers and then came the global celebrities who are friends of the young royals: Padmanabh and Gauravi. The night before for Holika Dahan in ceremonious style the family sat before their guests, nobles of their state greeted them. The city got to meet the grande old lady HH Rajmata Padmini Deviji after many days. Also sitting on the dais were Princess Diya Kumari, now a strong emerging voice of BJP in Rajasthan, the young princess Gauravi who has ably taken the reins of her mother’s NGO, Princess Diya Kumari Foundation. Also joining her cousins was young Sarveshwari, the Princess of Kishangarh and a national level trap shooter. Phagun calls for all to dress in the phaguniya colours: red and white. Hence the women wore red and white poshaks and saris, embellished and tie and dyed. And the men wore white achkans. A large fire was lit and Holika Dahan welcomed with sounds of drums and conch
Another interesting Holi interlude was with Alka Rani Singh and her daughter Yashodhara Singh. Alka, a Princess of Pratapgarh near Allahabad, collaborated with Le Creuset to put together a typical Holi celebratory feast reminiscent of the one that was made at home. Alka says, “It was a time to celebrate the crop. So it was time to eat aloo kachalu, kachhi aam ke murmure, and hare chane ka halwa.Potato and its brother sweet potato get cooked together in a simmering, spicy curry. To go with that is a crunchy murmura chaat and to end it all is the gujiya that we make with kesar and the halwa made from sweet peas that grow in abundance in this season.”
Shares Alka, “The women of Avadh dip-dyed their muslin saris in shades of yellow. With that worn, we would play Holi with flowers and gulal and thereafter a big bundle of these saris would be given to the women who were serving the family in the haveli.” Even today Alka enjoys wearing yellow and playing, “A calm and civilised Holi.”
