Water Balloon War

Last week I saw my first festival in Nepal and got a bit of a “holi” surprise.

Hindus celebate Holi Festival in the spring of every year. The festival’s roots are religious (I’ll let you google it), but today the actual celebration involves any kid or adult who wants to wage war for a week with water, paint, and balloons. Yes, you read that right. Water balloons! If you “play” holi, this means you set up camp on your rooftop, balcony, or street and declare war on your neighbors, friends, or any unsuspecting foreigner who happens to pass by.

So what did this mean for me? Well, last week I was pretty vigilant about taking note of my surroundings! I figured a water balloon couldn’t do too much damage, right? But then I kept hearing about the dyed powder. Some water balloons were packed with color, and the powder wouldn’t be too forgiving. So I walked through the narrower alleys with a bit of a head tick that week, looking over my shoulder for any little missiles headed my way! In the end I had 3 or 4 close calls but no major collisions—until the Holi day (Saturday) hit.

On Holi day most people stay inside unless they want to come out and “play.” I stayed inside most of the day watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy with friends but toward 2 p.m. got an itch to go out and see what this festival was all about. So I and two friends hopped in a taxi and drove around Kathmandu’s tourist district and started taking pictures of all the fun. We saw paint and water everywhere. Some were laughing, some dancing, and some obviously looking for their next battle to wage. Yes, the party had begun.

 

Yes, we got hit!

The three of us were quite content to sit inside the taxi and take in the fun behind glass windows, but my mistake came when I rolled down my window for a shot of some colorfully painted faces and POOF! I got two shots of red powder back in my face. What a surprise! If you get 10 points for hitting a Nepali, I think it’s about 50 points for an unsuspecting foreigner. My friend told me later she thought I was very “brave” to roll down my window all the way. Nice, I thought ... If naivety is similar to bravery then I must be very, very brave. (-:

See the powder ready in their hands?