Holi @ IFMR

I remember that 6 by 6 pit outside our boys hostel in my engineering college which was watered for 24 hours and was then used to throw people one by one flat on their back. Everybody refuses to be a part of it but then the moment one is thrown inside, he wants to pull the other one with him and then the other one and then one more and the chain goes on. You know now that you have a team now with ego boundaries blurring and inhibitions giving way to a fun-filled experience seeking mindset.

Well I thought that B School's holi will be much different from normal Engineering college's holi which is rowdy and rough and more boyish you can say. But then my fundas went for a six. The spirit was unmatched given we had a viva next day and those people who were completely reluctant to start were the ones who enjoyed most. The coloured water washed away the line between seniors and juniors and painted faces did the rest. After half an hour people can make out each other only by the vague recall of the body shapes as every visible part of the body was either painted blue, green or golden.

I missed that pit thing from my engineering college but then MBA is all about managing well within the constraints. People were spot on in realizing that the open tap and the covered enclosure gives a feeling of a pool and with a little digging with our feet can turn it into a mud pool. So there we are, throwing the people one by one in that pool and making up for the depth by the use of buckets, hands and legs (splashing muddy water) to paint the whole body into mud. (Glad that guyz didn't get plaster of paris that time or somebody would have carried all the weight around him/her for at-least next 4-6 hours).

Girls were equally enterprising and they seemed to be knowing the use of mud well as it was all splashed around their hairs, neck, face and all over their dresses. Guyz didn't know the proper use so they generously put as much as possible on each other (use as you want style). After two hours of jumping, shouting, running, tugging, pulling, pestering, forcing, arguing, convincing, debating, cajoling, luring and co-ordinating finally somebody evoked the need for Bhang. But then, in Chennai this is one rare commodity. (Not so rare if you know the right people). So finally we had to do away with specially prepared "Thandai" with only the colour of Bhang in it. Finally somebody shouted that we have viva too and then there came the break.

I don't want to miss on the story of washing the dirty clothes but then that is again a long one. Will continue.