Aamchi Mumbai vs aapna Delhi

While Delhi might be following a hands-on policy, Mumbai is trying to wash its hand off the festival, says Kabeer Sharma

The city that plays holi with water has no water, and the city that has all the water, hardly has any holi plans! Ironic?

Well, it’s true. Even as Delhi gets all set to celebrate just a brewy holi (usually it’s brewy and wet one), Mumbai seems to be giving up on Holi altogether.

You see, Delhi is battling a water shortage so acute, that a legislature walked up to the speaker of the Delhi assembly and drank his water, in protest! But still the city is all set to celebrate holi in style with the pools filled with colour and the turntables been summoned.

In stark contrast, its metropolitan cousin Mumbai will have the water but will go without the usual splattering of colour on Holi, even the posterboy of holi songs, Mr Rang Barse (The Big B) himself will no longer be treating guests with traditional sweets and oversee the setting up of showers in the lawns for the cheerfully painted. The Bachcans won’t be celebrating holi this year as Teji Bachchan passed away.

Why is Mumbai missing out on Holi? Again something political? Raj Thackeray and his anti-North Indian rhetoric that everyone presumes will translate into hatred against holi — typically a North Indian festival?

Or something even more sinister — does the Gucci-LV-Herve Leger brigade not want to off set their peroxide blonde tresses with colour and are scared that even the most skin-friendly of colours will make their skin break out?

Nothing of the sort, its more of a cultural thing. While Delhi kick-started the holi celebrations even before holi, graphic designer Nikki Duggal had a pre-Holi bash at a posh sub-urban Delhi nightclub to bring in holi like New Year complete with body painters, white kurtas and a venue covered in holi colours.

They were planning on calling the event Holi Cow, but changed it to Holi guy because it hurt religious sentiment. The most of fashionable (fashion designer, model types) crowd was planning to stick by what they’ve been doing on holi for a bit now — partying at a media baron’s home. “Everyone goes there, don’t they?”     

In Delhi, the holi celebrations are a day-long thing for most — after the media baron’s party some of the younger crowd will be heading out to a party by the Akois (the family that owns the Imperial hotel in Delhi), others to one by Mickey Punj. There are other parties too though — the Jaipurias and the Rais also host annual holi bashes, but lets face it, that’s the hardly the getting drunk type and throwing each other into the swimming pool type crowd.

This is, of course, the more up-market holis, and in the farmhouse parties, the ang se ang lagaana have long been replaced by DJs belting out trance and house and the traditional bhang has been dumped for usual cocktails and alcohol!

But even as Delhi sexes up Holi, how does Mumbai match up to Delhi? Most who’ve been in Mumbai for even one Holi scoff at the comparison. “To be honest Delhi and Rajasthan are the best places to celebrate holi in…In Bombay, it’s not something people go mad on.

In Delhi everyone celebrates holi, I think holis in Mumbai are more subdued, maybe because Mumbai is slightly more uptight,” Nikki Duggal, the one who hosted the pre-delhi bash says.

However, the comparison may just be a tad bit unfair on Mumbai, maybe comparing the Delhi holi to Ganpati visarjan in Mumbai would be a better idea. Till then they always have the holi at the RK studio, just in case! But we still recommend a flight ticket to Delhi, they’re getting cheaper and trust us, it’ll take less time than getting to the
farmhouse party in Alibaug!