Holi festival in Mumbai

katriin

Hello!

I found in the net that the Holi festival will be held during March 22nd this year - which is exactly when i am in Mumbai Is that true?

And if so, can someone recommend me which is the best site in Mumbai to see the Holi in action? I found a posting from 2005 about Juhu beach...

Thanks!
Katriin

Nick-H

Holi is not such a big thing in my city, but where it is celebrated, it has always had a reputation for being boisterous and not a safe day for women to be out on the street. Many women will be abused.

Since the New Year abuse of women in crowds, I'm saying to women now that, no, it is not safe to be on the streets for these big-crowd events.

Sorry to be negative about this one --- but you will find advise in various threads, even a year or two old, that Holi is best seen from your hotel window.

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aadil

If you don't mind being groped by drunk men who will say that it is their right to do so on this day then you may go out and join in. Not that it is the same everywhere but that could be a possibility in most places where you do not know the crowd you will be in. If you are in a private party where there are decent families playing Holi then it may be fine and even fun but then you would have to know someone personally to enjoy this event. I for one do not like this festival at all and just stay at home as far as possible. Nowadays there is a lot of non religious stuff when it comes to religious festivals and the colours they use for Holi are not good for the skin as you will find out after the event (many people even use oil paints, dirty water filled balloons, etc to have fun at other people's expense). The traditional gulal (natural colours) are safer than the synthetic colours that most people use so be careful if you do end up playing Holi even with friends.

The other thing you have to be careful of is the drink "Bhang" that you may be given to drink.

Cheers,
Aadil.

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amarshah

If you still want to exp Holi opt for these pvt parties. Usualy there is one in Maker Arcade, CuffPared. The passed cost inbetween Rs 500 to 1000. Though the crowd is mostly young college going one still has to be careful. Going along with some friends is ideal than alone.

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snonymous

Avoid Juhu beach like the plague, it will be full of drunken unruly revellers, mostly male. Highly unsafe for women. Recommend: be indoors till around 4 pm. If you venture outdoors in the morning you could be pelted with waterballoons and worse.

katriin

Thanks for the warning!
But what about Colaba area? Will this be more quiet/safe? Since we're only in Mumbai for three days, i would not like to spend one of them in a hotel room... I suppose that restaurants and shops are open during Holi?

maypacheco

you need to be careful not only on holi day, but also as early as a week prior... people get a kick out of throwing ballons prior to holi as well right upto the main day.. so take care..

mani

hello katriin,

I stay in colaba so here's the low down for holi - everything including most restaurants & shops will be closed untill late afternoon.

Its a public holiday so all the sights will be closed too.

you can venture out if you are in a group ( men & women )atleast 4-5 of you. One trick is to apply a small amount of gulal / red coloured powder on your cheeks - so everybody thinks you have played and are done.

In most housing complexes children and young adults play holi from early morning untill 12-1. you can walk around your hotel area & stop at the places where you see people playing holi - watch out for groups of single men - they are likely to cause trouble by trying to grope etc.

Go to Kailash Parbat Hotel on the colaba causeway toward colaba market - they should be open for a traditional holi breakfast of Jalebi & Thandai milk drink.

as long as you are alert and consious of your surroundings you should be able to enjoy.

mani

katriin

Thank you for encouraging advice!

Familyonthemove

It's not quite as bad at Juhu beach as has been suggested here.

I live in an apartment overlooking the beach and ventured out last year despite the dire warnings. The peak activities were around 11:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m, and with the Police and News Channels all over the beach there was little chance of trouble.

There were large numbers of families on the beach and nobody even dabbed me with a spot of paint until I pulled out the mega master blaster water pistol out of my bag ..... then all hell broke loose!

I would not recommend a single female to go on the beach at Holi, and certainly not at night - but as part of a small group it should be fine. It would have been a bit boisterous for my daughter - and my wife would not have been amused by the paint - but I found it all to be good natured fun.

Just grease up your skin and hair with oil or the colours will never come out. And go armed to the teeth with a water gun and pump action spray (available from all good kirana).

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Oyar

Aadil summed it up perfectly. Do not attend even a pvt party .. unless you personally know almost everyone there.

Would suggest that you view proceedings from the balcony of someone's house in a populated society. even then .. watch out for water baloons, eggs, tomatoes & worse.

Take care!

TracyB

Or u could fly to Goa for Holi...We were there a few years ago and had a great time...No problems what so ever, just alot of fun!!

See my pic's, they are really cute.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/549225729czibca

machadinha

Just leaving a note to the uninitiated, bhang in this sense would be typically a lassi (yoghurt drink, perfectly harmless in itself) spiked with marihuana or hashish.

Whatever you may make of it, ingesting either in any form rather than smoking it means it has a delayed effect that is notoriously hard to dose well, especially to people unaccustomed to it (let alone unaware that this is what they're having in the first place), and it may not really bear much resemblance to that mild spliff from a trusted source you may or may not enjoy at home.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhang
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lassi#Bhang_lassi

http://www.erowid.org/ Is a good resource to search on such matters.

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chris123

Hi katriin

If you are in Mumbai during Holi this year, why not celebrate Holi with semi-orphan, orphaned girl children at Amcha Ghar Trust - Mumbai, www.amchaghar.org, you can stay overnight with the children , celebrate and play with them and finally leave for your next destination, we will be having another girl from Berlin during this time. if interested please do contact me... Thanks in advance...

Anilk222

Hi katriin, Post all the thread, I hope you surely have concluded not to venture out....the best option would be the Amchaghar options, and surely the kids would be delighted to see you as well.