I was shocked to see how children, age ranging from 5 yrs and above created nuisance perhaps in the name of ‘burra na mano holi hai.”

It was disgusting to see children from so – called educated families and going to good/ elite  schools totally disregarded basic social curtsies and safety norms.Since a week prior to Holi they threw  water-balloons at unsuspecting passersby. I saw a missed water balloon fall close to a young girl who was going to college. A balloon hit a scooterist’s  pillion seat! I dreaded to think if he had lost balance and met with an accident  or if the balloon hit the girl’s eyes/ ears instead and the impact damaged for the rest of her life !!

A “presswali’s” ironed clothes got wet when she was on her way to deliver them – I’m sure she had to face the temper of her clients! There were  boys (and also girls, though not that rowdy)in groups who carried colors in cold-drink bottles and threw at buses /cars/ anybody they fancied!!

I talked to some of those children about the hazards of such kind of celebration and i must say  they hesitated for a while but soon  thrill prevailed over their better sense and i was not surprised to see that. I was not surprised because when they had the green signal from their guardians,who was i to tell them?  I did try to share my thoughts with  some parents about the issue,but their reaction was either indifferent or they looked indulgently at their loving children and some even  gave  me hard stares!!

At a shop i heard a young , affluent and educated- looking man insist that he must buy “pucca color”so that his friends have a tough time removing it. The idea of making others suffer was predominant in his celebration of Holi !!’

I felt sad that people in swanky cars, expensive clothes put their children in best schools,pay heavy fees to send them for tutions and are very concerned about the marks their children score ( incidentally, i overheard one of those kids got more than 85% in General Knowledge– what a irony !!), but they are not concerned about inculcating  basic values and discipline in their children.

I also wondered if schools reminded the students about the ‘Dos & Donts ‘ of  celebration before every festival and subtly warn them that unruly  behaviour will not be appreciated. Children should be taught that celebrations should not be at the cost of others discomfort and risk of harm.

Related Post : – Of Cannabis & Lawlessness

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My wife and I drove around today just to be with our respective parents and spend some quality time together.
We covered some good distances in-between houses, allowing us a chance to check out stuff going on,on the roads.

The cops were out boy. There were many of them. And they were well placed in different parts of the town.

The cops were out handing pardon sentences for minor offenses. And so it was.

Many pardon sentences were granted to all our “can-never-die-in-road-accidents” dudes tripling out on motor bikes without any helmets. On any other day, 9 out of 10 people typically, can be seen wearing head gear on motorbikes and riding with a single pillion. But today being the 366th day of the year, which is not mentioned in the Indian Constitution; on which God excuses himself from his normal routines at planet earth and on which it is impossible to die in India by a road accident,our boys were high on Marijuana, riding motorbikes with some monkey like charm. And that my friend was ok by the cops.

Brawls, and drink driving/riding on the roads were common feature. One some days , people just have very high entertainment value and on some very high nuisance value. Sometimes, they can be incredibly blessed to, have both on the same day. And so was the case today.

Cannabis,whiskey,beer,”no head gear”,blind cops and who knows what else was a life-saver today, on (Holi day)a great day in the Great Indian Culture.

Oh, and there was colour and some played decent.

Note: Originally posted –> here <–by the same author

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