This is the final of three parts describing our time in Barsana, India, during the Holi Festival 2018. People were frenetically dancing everywhere at all times, from early morning, until sundown when we left. Small bands of drummers would wander from place to place (upper-left and upper-right), and start a rapid staccato snare drum beat. Immediately, they were surrounded by smiling people dancing wildly, usually in a rhythm having little to do with the music.
Every so often, two people would join hands, and swing around each other like a child’s game, until one or the other would quit in exhaustion or dizziness (upper-center). Wherever you turned though, there was wild dancing, often chanting “Rhadhe! Rhadhe!” — the most well-known devotee of Krishna. People rammed into each other constantly, but I don’t think I saw a frown all day that lasted more than a brief second.
The crowds were unbelievable. No matter how much Oliver (our guide) described them in advance, we were simply not prepared for the reality. It was a mob mentality trying to get into the temple. People pushing from the back, forcing everyone forward to where there was not a spare inch to breathe. Even when there was absolutely no space, more people would attempt to squeeze in.
At one point, as we were pushed up the stairs, I missed a marble step and slipped. The crowd was so dense that the people behind just literally walked on me to keep moving forward. Fortunately, I fell only a few feet from a policeman, who quickly came to my side, and forced the crowd to go around me the few seconds it took me to regain my feet. Evelyn was being pulled up by people in front of her holding her hand, while others were lifting her step by step from behind.
I have read of cases where people in this part of the world are killed in stampedes. I never really understood how it could happen, until experiencing it for myself. I must admit, that was one aspect of this celebration that I do not care to experience again…
Once inside the temple, the crowds continued to be massively dense — now with the addition of thrown paint powder to the mix. The top and bottom border images above all show colored powder being thrown by someone in the crowd, leaving the overall atmosphere a colored haze (center image).
Inside the temple, there is a stage where the holy statues reside, covered with cloth so they could not be photographed. On that stage stood half a dozen priests who alternately threw paint powder (center image) or sweets.
In the afternoon, Evelyn bribed some temple helpers, and after some persistence, she was able to sneak upstairs to the balcony to photograph and video the craziness from above, whereas I was swept out the exit. Instead of fighting it, I photographed the women beating the men below.
At the end of the day, the men and women of a local Hindu club get together in the streets to “play a game” as they called it. One of their gods was a womanizer, who told many women in town that he would marry them, in order to bed them. Finally the women got together and beat him savagely with sticks, as he pleaded for forgiveness.
In this game, men kneel in the center of a circle of women, holding a shield over his head. The women, all dressed in wedding clothes, then beat the shield mercilessly. After a set time, or if the man has had enough, a referee comes in, stops the beating, and the man is replaced by the next person to receive the beating. See the final video below to get a feel for just how hard these women are hitting!
Here is a 90 second clip showing the nature of the constant dancing. To get this video, we managed to sneak upstairs to a loft overlooking the main floor.
This 45 second clip gives you a feel of just how hard these women are hitting. It is obvious that the man is barely holding up, and does get replaced right after this clip finishes.
