Happy Holi!

I arrived in Delhi last night and am staying over at my good friends, Steff and Kath's place. Tonight, I'll be catching the midnight flight to Singapore for a little vacation (and yes I double and triple checked the date this time).

I decided to take advantage of my time in Delhi today to stock up on some food supplies to take back to Chandigarh. My goal was to buy some bacon and some cheddar cheese, which are rare commodities in the sleepy city of Chandi. So, I walked from Club Canada to the compound gate and asked the guard to call me a taxi. He dutifully did so and recited the taxi license plate number to me so that I could verify that it was the same car he had called.

I got into the little black mini-van taxi and greeted the turbanned driver with a 'Saas ri kaal'. As per normal, I had to ask him to uncover the meter so that I could see that it was showing a reasonable amount and that he actually had it running.

During the drive to the Lodi Market, I noticed a man with a pink face riding a motorcycle, which didn't quite register because crazy sights in India are a common occurrence, then I noticed a pedestrian with a purple face and shirt... then it dawned on me. "Oh no!" I thought. "Today is the start of Holi!" As Saroj had explained to me a few days earlier, on Holi you can't get angry if complete strangers runs up to you and smear coloured wet powder on your face, pour a bucket of it down your pants, or squirt coloured water at you with a watergun! So, if you don't want to get dyed, then you hide at home. The official holiday at work isn't until tomorrow, so I had forgotten that it is actually a two-day event. As I looked down at my white jacket and cream linen pants, I contemplated asking the taxi driver to turn around. Instead, I decided that when the driver asked me if he could wait for me to finish my errands so that he could take me back to the embassy, this time, I would wisely agree, in order to minimise the chances of being Holi'd.

Luckily, my errands were completed without incident. Don't get me wrong, I think that Holi is a fantastic idea and just perfect for colourful India, but I'm not sure I'm ready to walk through the streets of Singapore with purple skin! Maybe next year...