As Mumbai gets drenched in colour this Holi, a group of Mumbaikars will celebrate the festival with tribals in rural Maharashtra.
As the city gets drenched in colour this Holi, a group of Mumbaikars will celebrate the festival with tribals in rural Maharashtra. Harsh chemicals will make way for organic hues while the revelry will have a traditional touch — authentic Maharashtrian food, folk music and local sports meant to test one’s strength and endurance.
The villagers of Purushwadi in Ahmednagar district, which is nestled between rivers Kurkundi and Mula in the Sahyadri mountain range, will give their urban guests a glimpse of the local customs during Holi.
“I am looking forward to the huge bonfires in which chapattis are thrown to seek gods’ blessings. And after the flames die down, the ash is rubbed on foreheads for good luck,” said Neha Sharma, an BPO executive who is planning a “rustic getaway” with some of her friends.
The day time celebrations will include smearing each other with organic gulal and games like tug of war and picking rocks and boulders and throwing them over one’s shoulders.
The trip is organised by Grassroutes, a travel group that seeks to promote rural tourism by introducing urban travellers to tribal villages and their customs while creating alternate livelihood for the farmers. “In rural Maharashtra, Holi is considered a festival of hope and joyous celebration after overcoming the harsh winter. And we are trying to rekindle the innocence and the simple joys of the festival,” said Nickolai Kinny, head of communications at Grassroutes.
The visitors will be put up in tents and village homes. Nature trails, farming activities, crab hunting and star gazing are some of the other activities that the guests can look forward to. The two-day trip costs Rs2,500 per person and so far 15 Mumbaikars have signed up for it. The proceeds from every outing is shared equally between the villagers who provide service to the guests, the investors in the venture and Grassroutes.
The organisers claim that over the last few years since they began operating these rural tours, there has been a marked increase in the average household income in Purushwadi where villagers are hired as cooks, guides and housekeepers.
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