Enough of the 'bura na maano, Holi hai' excuse, say DU girls, who're sick of being harrassed and pelted with balloons as early as a week before the festival.
Though Holi is often passed off as the playful festival of colours, for
some girls, it's anything but that, and they are sick of the "bura na
maano, Holi hai" excuse. "If a kid throws a water balloon at me and
says, 'bura na maano, Holi hai', I can smile and walk off, but if some
guy hits me on the head with a rotten egg when I am dressed for a
presentation, am I expected to do the same?" asks Anjali from Hindu College.
Can't get out of our homes a week before holi
The girls say that stepping out of the house a week before Holi invites unnecessary trouble. And often, the only way they can protect themselves from the hooligans is by not celebrating the festival. "We know that there are all kinds of wild people playing Holi outside, so we just say inside our hostel rooms. Itni koi problem nahi hoti hai," says Maidang from Daulat Ram College. "We don't have any option but to stop hanging out outside. Most of my outstation friends just go back home or stay inside their PGs. But why should they have to do that?" adds Sakshi from Delhi College of Arts And Commerce.
Grease, rotten eggs, pee - how is this 'celebrating'?
Boycotting the outside world for a whole week before Holi is not always a feasible option. Some girls have decided to stop taking it lying down. "The things they do are disgusting. I saw a guy pissing inside a Holi balloon one day. In what sense of the word is that 'celebration'? You can't force your stupid celebration on people - not with greasy colours and definitely not with your piss," says Sahaj from Kalindi College. "A guy once threw an egg at me. It hit my back and it hit me really hard. I turned back and slapped him. My mom told me I shouldn't have, but that's not how you play Holi," says Ankita, a class 12 student.
High-on-bhang uncles on the road
Apparently, after their dose of bhang drinks and bhang kulfis, some men like to loiter around and harrass women. "We decided to watch a movie last Holi evening and two middle-aged men started following us while passing lewd comments. They were decently dressed so we were all the more shocked," recounts Akriti of Khalsa College. "These men are there every year, creating a nuisance on the roads. I wonder how they get away with it every year," says Shruti, a resident of west Delhi.
The balloon targets
Unexpected balloons and hard-to-wash-off colours are not the only issues the girls face. The balloon attackers' target aim is a problem that's harder to deal with, they say. "They deliberately throw water or the water balloons at your breasts or your hips. Had they only used their shooting skills constructively," says Bini, a PG resident in Kamla Nagar. "We can't wear summery clothes around Holi, even though it's so hot at that time. At Kamla Nagar and Hudson, you never know where a balloon will come from. If I walk with my hands clasped behind my back, they hit me in the front and vice-versa. It's hard to even locate them and you can't do anything," says Palak, an MA student.
All-girls holi?
Since the guys won't behave, some girls say that they plan to play Holi only with their female friends this year, while others say that's an impractical idea. "We are going to play Holi at a friend's place and it's going to be only girls. At least with them, you don't have to fear misconduct," says Anjumi from Hindu College.
"You can't have an all-girls Holi. We don't live in an all-girls world. There has to be a better solution to this problem. And the solution can't be banning Holi altogether," said Aashi , a student of Kirori Mal College.
Though Holi is often passed off as the playful festival of colours, for
some girls, it's anything but that, and they are sick of the "bura na
maano, Holi hai" excuse. "If a kid throws a water balloon at me and
says, 'bura na maano, Holi hai', I can smile and walk off, but if some
guy hits me on the head with a rotten egg when I am dressed for a
presentation, am I expected to do the same?" asks Anjali from Hindu College.Can't get out of our homes a week before holi
The girls say that stepping out of the house a week before Holi invites unnecessary trouble. And often, the only way they can protect themselves from the hooligans is by not celebrating the festival. "We know that there are all kinds of wild people playing Holi outside, so we just say inside our hostel rooms. Itni koi problem nahi hoti hai," says Maidang from Daulat Ram College. "We don't have any option but to stop hanging out outside. Most of my outstation friends just go back home or stay inside their PGs. But why should they have to do that?" adds Sakshi from Delhi College of Arts And Commerce.
Grease, rotten eggs, pee - how is this 'celebrating'?
Boycotting the outside world for a whole week before Holi is not always a feasible option. Some girls have decided to stop taking it lying down. "The things they do are disgusting. I saw a guy pissing inside a Holi balloon one day. In what sense of the word is that 'celebration'? You can't force your stupid celebration on people - not with greasy colours and definitely not with your piss," says Sahaj from Kalindi College. "A guy once threw an egg at me. It hit my back and it hit me really hard. I turned back and slapped him. My mom told me I shouldn't have, but that's not how you play Holi," says Ankita, a class 12 student.
High-on-bhang uncles on the road
Apparently, after their dose of bhang drinks and bhang kulfis, some men like to loiter around and harrass women. "We decided to watch a movie last Holi evening and two middle-aged men started following us while passing lewd comments. They were decently dressed so we were all the more shocked," recounts Akriti of Khalsa College. "These men are there every year, creating a nuisance on the roads. I wonder how they get away with it every year," says Shruti, a resident of west Delhi.
The balloon targets
Unexpected balloons and hard-to-wash-off colours are not the only issues the girls face. The balloon attackers' target aim is a problem that's harder to deal with, they say. "They deliberately throw water or the water balloons at your breasts or your hips. Had they only used their shooting skills constructively," says Bini, a PG resident in Kamla Nagar. "We can't wear summery clothes around Holi, even though it's so hot at that time. At Kamla Nagar and Hudson, you never know where a balloon will come from. If I walk with my hands clasped behind my back, they hit me in the front and vice-versa. It's hard to even locate them and you can't do anything," says Palak, an MA student.
All-girls holi?
Since the guys won't behave, some girls say that they plan to play Holi only with their female friends this year, while others say that's an impractical idea. "We are going to play Holi at a friend's place and it's going to be only girls. At least with them, you don't have to fear misconduct," says Anjumi from Hindu College.
"You can't have an all-girls Holi. We don't live in an all-girls world. There has to be a better solution to this problem. And the solution can't be banning Holi altogether," said Aashi , a student of Kirori Mal College.
