Wah Taj

As a Bachelor

Takdir hai, magar kismat nahi khulti
tajmahal banana chahata hoon
lekin mumtaz nahi milti!

As a Lover

Takdir hai, magar kismat nahi khulti
tajmahal banana chahata hoon,
mumtaz mil gayi hai magar
woh shaadi nahi karti

As a married one

Takdir hai, magar kismat nahi khulti
tajmahal banana chahata hoon
lekin mumtaz nahi marti

Sociology Open House

All the Departments at the National University of Singapore, once in year, compete with each other to tell the prospective students how useful their subject is in the present day society; so that they will enroll in their department. This is called the Open House, where the research, publications and everything related to the subject is displyed out in the public.

The speciality of this functions is Free Gifts, Free Food and the new comners freedom to shop around. It is the time when they have the sovereign power to decide their choice; and once they choose, they lose.......their freedom to shop around........The authority of positions suddenly gets reversed. The power shifts - from the students to the department........to the faculties......This is the day of marketization of education in the public; and at the end of the day you evaluate.....who had a good business????????????

I was asked to showcase my research on the Indigenous peoples of India, especially the notorious Bhils Tribes popularly know as the Bow Men of Rajasthan. I shared this poster with Alice - a Malaysian friend who is also working among the indegenous people. This Pictures below show some of the attractions of the day.

The traditional wedding costume of Indonesia was competing with the Indian Saree. Its really a beautiful day when you get to see students are dressed in their traditional indegenous outfits. It looks so colourful and amazing.......

I am sure someone must be liking the reddish colour of Indian Saree. It looks beautiful on....

Strange Foreign Beauty

Wish I Could See Life Ahead...."Next"!!

What would happen if we could see the future? No war, no conflict, no misunderstanding and no separation. Life would be as smooth as a bed of rose and as safe as a prison (deliberate use) – though with a predictable pattern. This is the story of movie “Next”.

Nocolas Cage – a Las Vegas magician with an uncanny ability to see the future happenings, has been forced to foil a terrorist bomb plot. The problem is that he can only see the happenings in the ‘next’ two minutes. Not beyond….. Cage falls in ‘love’ with Jessica Biel who eventually gets kidnapped. He tries to rescue his soul mate; and for some reasons, he can see farther than two minutes in regards to her. Can Cage save his beloved Biel and the world from the danger of death and destruction? Well, he could, as it is shown in the movie; but the story never happened, since he could see it before and stop its happening.

I wish, if I could see my life ahead and stop(ed) the happenings of what has happened or about to happen……...

Combating Contagious Corruption

N. Vittal, the former Vigilance Commissioner argues that there are five players on the corruption scene in Indian system that makes for a vicious circle. These are –

(1) the 'neta", the corrupt politician;
(2) the "babu,' the corrupt bureaucrat;
(3) the "lala" the corrupting businessman;
(4) the "jhola", the corrupt NGO; and
(5) the "dada" the criminal of the underworld.

Alternatively, Indian corruption system can be categorized into four 'Ps' in terms of quantum of money exchanged. These are –

(1)Political corruption (e.g. kickbacks, donations to political parties from individuals and industries, use of black money in elections etc).
(2)Programme corruption ( e.g., food for work, rural development, relief schemes, grants and subsidies to NGOs, etc);
(3)Project corruption (e.g., commission to be paid for approval of contract and grants).
(4)Petty corruption (e.g., chai paani (bribe/tips for prompt access and service) for obtaining an application form or submitting application form, making a FIR in police stations etc).

Source: Vittal, N "Combatting Corruption", SEMINAR, No. 485; http://www.india-seminar.com/2000/485/485%20vittal.htm

Dusting Off the Memory Lane!!!

Public memory is conserved and transmitted through history. It is significant for the psyche of the nation. How about the individual memory? I always think about it. It is subjective though. Human life constitutes a variety of experiences; and it is from those experiences we learn and live life. It does not always constitute rosy episodes; it is a collusion of colorful experiences and costly liabilities. We often do not like thinking about the bitter memories of the past – whether it is a traumatic childhood or a bad break off of relationship. The sensibility, however, lies turning these liabilities into invaluable assets. For me, cherishing the past memories have had two functions – recollecting the happy moments in life; and evaluating the past which sometimes give inspirations to move on. It also tells me about the stages of evolution in the structure of my relationship. Bedtime recollection abstains them holding dust; and if nothing, gives me some good sleep.

"Babadom"

I watched the "Holy Smoke". Its a movie which depicts the religious life in India (with familiar pictures from Delhi, Rajasthan and Dharmashala) and rise of cult culture. The Gurus are coming up and leading a varieties of people in their search for spirituality and happiness in life. This has acquired a comfortable space in the middle class social life. Some may call it worshipping false Gods, but others find meaning in it. Despite these contradictory perceptions and ideologies, a certain cultural consensus has emerged among the middle class and elite sections of Indians on the norms of religious practice in modern life. These norms made it possible for the leading groups in society to make distinctions between acceptable ritual behaviour or doctrinal belief and unaccetable superstition and irrationality. As a result these new groups have become more popular religious communities often by delegitimising their counterpart aborigins.

The movie does not make much sense though; the protagonist (Kate Winslet) has still not been able to find an answer. Her search for truth, her quest for happiness and meaning in life, and her journey to unravel the mystery behind the 'babadom' continues to go on......

The Turtle Island

A giant sea turtle saves two shipwrecked sailors – a Malay and a Chinese. As an act of thanks, the two men build a Chinese temple, a Malay shrine and a huge turtle sculpture.


So goes the legend behind this island. Today, Taoists still make annual pilgrimages to the Tua Pekong Temple during the ninth lunar month while Muslims visit Kramat Kusu, the Malay shrine.

A Lovely Twist

I am what I am
Not what you want to see
If I wansn't, as I am
Then, what would I be.

What twist and turn
Do you think I fit right
So, better get used to it
And, take like.

From the movie Nishabd

Nishabd - The Silence

What makes people silent? I remember a lunch time real life story – He was 27 and she was 20.The guy was in love which made others wonder – she is so young?????? And then silence – perhaps the guy felt embarrassed of falling in love with someone who is so young; and the friends felt unwise entering into someone’s private life.

Nishabd reflects such a story. He (big B) is 60 and she (Jiah Khan) is 18. She was a friend of her daughter who came to spend the holidays. They fell in love. Without saying much, they said so much. What struck him was, not the beauty and youthfulness of her body but the innocence of her heart, the childishness in her behaviour; the smile on her face, and the rebelliousness in her mind. Her bravery came not from having loved but from being intensely lonely. It was not one needing the other, but both needing each other. What dragged them together is their loneliness in the crowd – the loveless childhood on the one hand and the tied-up adulthood on the other where people forget the real reason of life. And, this loneliness is expressed through insecurity, stubbornness, lack of fear for death, and a search for love.

This is what the big B has to say – “Why an old man feels attracted towards a young girl? And the girl’s youthful body is not the only reason. The reason is that after a certain age every person fears his aging and death. And he wants to runaway from that fear towards youth. But this cannot happen. We all get so entangled and stuck in the worldly matters that we forget that the real reason of life is to be happy. And may be this is the reason why we feel a bit jealous of children and youngsters. Because, unlike them we lose the capability; spending time with Jia, I had become like a child. I thought I have gotten another chance to be young”.

She failed to have him because he was a “hypocrite” – As she says quoting the big B – “you must live your life with your own decisions. It’s not necessary the world accepts it. Was all that only talking? The truth is that you are a hypocrite”. This particular moment of being leveled as a hypocrite also brings tears to the eyes of her daughter. She cannot also stand by her father since his personality has now been compromised.

What made him a hypocrite? It was not that his love for her was fake, but he was shackled by the values of morality and structure of relationship which in our society defines our lives and restricts our autonomy. He may have been a deviant by falling in love, but he did not have the courage to break the second rule. However, neither it helped him saving the breaking of his family nor did it help him expressing his feeling for her. The result again is a suffocated loneliness which persuades him to end his life. As he says – “Jia’s thought are eating me up from within. To free myself from this pain, I regularly try to give up my life; but I can’t do it! Not because I am scared of death, I can’t do it because I want to live a little more with Jia’s memories. I want to some days more with Jia’s memories. That’s it”!

Are We Not a Stupid Democracy.......

These were the questions I once received with the same subject title – (1) What happened to our Nation and when we shall have abundance for all; (2) All problems stem from our Constitution that cannot separate criminals from the rest. It is the very same Constitution that once we celebrated; (3) Biggest Democracy! Where people cannot choose their representatives and leaders are picked by the Boards and common people do not have any say; and (4) Why are we not revolting like the French Revolution. Are we a nation of soft people, born to bear all this shit and would continue doing this, etc, etc.

There is a saying, "when you are around your mother, you do not really feel her absence". Similar is the case. Those who ask the question, are we not a stupid democracy, are, as I feel, really stupid. It’s because they have not experienced the situation in a non-democratic country. They are the privileged sections of our society. My brief answer would be –

(1) What have we done with the extra money we earn beyond our necessity? Have we distributed them among the poor and hungry people? No, it’s easy to say than doing anything concrete.

(2) Its not the Constitution which needs to be blame. It you and I - we the people are to be blame. We should be thankful that this Constitution has provided us the freedom to speak and because of that we are allowed to criticize. Neera Chandhoke (2003) makes a distinction between the authoritarian and democratic countries. According to her, the former grants you the economic rights by providing a comfortable living. However, it snatches away the civil and political rights of the citizens. And this kind of state can also snatch the economic rights of the individuals in society. The citizens lose their right to assert rights. However, the later may not guarantee the luxurious living standard of the authoritarian states, but it does guarantee the citizens to assert their rights in the court of justice. The most marginalized of the citizens can also demand the accountability of the state. Democracy does not guarantee you economic wellbeing; but it does guarantee the civil and political rights to its citizens within the sovereign political territory. Go to the non-democratic/ authoritarian countries and experience; they will tell you what you are and are not allowed to speak. Do not blame the Constitution; blame ourselves that we have not done anything to implement those rights and duties enshrined in the Constitution. Instead, we have twisted them for our personal benefits.

(3) Again, it is not the democratic system to be blame. It is the people who decide how the system would work.

(4) Why do not we revolt? It’s because people like you and me are bonded by patronage relationship. We get our work done through the patron-client relationship and our "self" has been compromised. We have no moral to raise fingers towards others. As explaining the ‘politics of patronage’ in rural Rajasthan, Mr. Ajay S. Mehta (2007) – the Executive Director of NFI – told me, “many, many people over past sixty years have been compromised either with an extra samosa or with an extra muster roll where you have not worked and you have got the wage. If you have got half the wage, you are happy because you got it by standing in the shade. And none of us – civil society activists or voluntary organizations – are telling the workers that this is the way that you are compromising the autonomy”.

To make democracy work, we need to rethink about the structure of power in society. Who holds the power? Who controls the society? To conclude, When authority will make its way to the hands of the autonomous mass, all these questions will lose their relevance.

Doing Monkey Business

Shifting Identities

Identity of an entity is neither monolithic nor fixed. It is ever changing and can simultaneouly acquire plural and multilayered levels. It is a product of social construction in a particular time and setting.


Not only the identities of human beings become different over time and context but also the identities of non-living entities change. This is the picture of the famous Fullerton Hotel Singapore whose identity has passed through a long, pluralistic trajectory. It was born in 1928 with a colonial identity and now enjoying the transformed identity of a luxurious Hotel situated at the mouth of the Singapore River and at the heart of Singapore’s financial and arts districts. Its history shares the level of multiple identities such as the General Post Office, The Exchange, the Chamber of Commerce and The Singapore Club all of which played important economic roles in ensuring that Singapore remained the trading hub in South-east Asia at the time.

"History" of Nations

Imagine, why did I not take up History as a subject of study during my Undergraduate days? Thought, its useless studying History which is nothing but the life of "Dead Heads". How would it be useful? Today, I feel its absense not because of the fact that I donot know the life spans of the dead heads of history but because of the fact that it is important for understanding the present status and future direction of a society. The techno-managerial sciences do not understand its relevance as they are somewhat socially crippled. This is the reason why Mr. Chandrababu Naidu - one of the progressive Chief Ministers of an Indian state thought of closing down the the History Departments in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Ask today the Chinese and the Japanese what History means to them? What's behind the growing conflict between these two societies? And the answer is - HISTORY - The history of war and Japanese occupation of China. There has been continuous protests on the streets of China against the Japanese attitude towards the "past". The Chinese did not like the former Japanese premier Junichiro Koizumi's visit to the Yasukuni - a shrine to Japanese war dead that includes war criminals and portrays Japan’s colonization and conquest of Asian neighbors as a noble effort to free Asia from Western dominance; and the Japanese government’s approval of a junior high school textbook that whitewashes Japanese atrocities committed against Chinese and other Asians from the 1930s through the Second World War.

These feelings of antagonism against atrocities goes back to the hisotry of nationalism and colonialism. The culture of Colonization was justified on the ground that it is the "Whiteman's burden (though not in Japanese case) to Civilise the Oriental Savage". Modern Nation-states were born as the endproducts of long anti-clonial nationalist struggle. As Partha Chatterjee (1993) tells us, "the forms of the modern state were imported into these countries through the agency of colonial rule". This does not mean that Nation-states in the east would not have come into existence, if the Orients had not been colonised. There are countries who qualify the characteristics of progressive Nation-states, but never experienced colonialism. However, I would say, Colonialism strengthened the feelings of Nationalsim in the east.

"History" is not about the dead heads; it is about the rich cultural past and uniqueness of identity of a particular Nation. It is the very reason of our existence in a society.

French Dilemma?

One of Europe's most powerful country is graplling today in finding a leader for the nation-state. The French society is affected by ethnic clevages, political apathy, lack of direction and most importantly a dilemma between Capitalism and Socialism. This dilemma is reflected in the Presidential election candidature of Mr. Sarkozy and Ms. Royal. The decision of almost 45 million voters will decide not only the fate of these candidates but also the course of direction that the country wants to take. Italy and Spain expect Ms Royal; where as Germany, England and the director of (nations)states - the USA prefer Mr. Sarkozy. As globalization and with it the open market economy leaps forward, and the people's apiration for consumerism grows across the globe, the question is how far the socialist policies Ms. Royal appeal people beyond the the working class? To add here, the French working class is becoming negligible and most importantly vulnerable before the regulations of the capital. On the other hand, what vision Mr. Sarkozy has in rescuing France from economic and political crisis and in advancing what France was once known for - equality, liberty, and fraternity?

Resolving the dilemma depends on the decision of the French citizen....

Shopper’s Paradise or Learning Center? Deconstructing Stereotypes

Not long back; recently while doing my fieldwork among the so called notorious and criminal tribes (Bhils) of Southern Rajasthan, I had the opportunity to meet varieties of people – academics, journalists, NGO activists, people’s representatives, tourists, donor agents and most importantly the ‘subjects’ or we may call the ‘objects’ of government and NGO welfare programmes – the tribals. It was not my research which surprised most of the people, rather it the place from where I am currently receiving my academic trainings. It is Singapore. Many of the people came with the same surprising question that “I have never heard anyone going to Singapore to continue with their higher studies”. A lady activist of a NGO also asked me that “I thought Singapore is a place for shopping and tourism”.

My implicit feelings of pleasure and satisfaction of studying abroad were shattered into pieces by their remarks. It, frankly speaking, let me feel embarrassed. I, however, had an answer to their questions – it is true that Singapore has long considered as a “shopper’s paradise” and none has recognized it as a center for learning and education. We have always looked upon America and Britain as our pathfinders and solution providers. The reasons for this could be the ‘history of colonialism’ (colonization of mind) and the economic and political dominance of these countries in the world order (hegemony). It is also associated with the ‘history of modernity’. I do not deny their role in educating the young mind around the globe. However, what I want to suggest is that it is not a matter of where you learn but what you learn. I agree that the American and British Universities still play dominant role in the field of higher education, but at the same there are many other universities which are important centers of higher education. The center of education has decentered. Singapore is not only a shopper’s paradise but also an education hub with immense opportunities and respect for talents.


In 2006, three Asian Universities have been ranked amongst the top-twenty Universities of the World conducted by the Times Higher Education Supplement. The criteria used for this year's rankings include research quality; teaching quality; graduate employability; and international outlook. The National University of Singapore (NUS) has been ranked 19th amongst the World’s top 20 Universities. In Technology it is at 8th and in Biomedicine it stands at 9th position. In Social Science it is at 11th; in Arts and Humanities it is at 22nd; and in Science it also stands at 22nd position (see http://newshub.nus.edu.sg/headlines/0610/ranking_07oct06.htm).

What we need is to deconstruct the stereotypes by deconstructing the popular psyche….

Piety of "Self"

“Self” is not an isolated entity. It grows with every passing moment and every new experience. Its immaturity and growth is contingent upon time and space. What I think today right may not be the same tomorrow. But it was right when I thought of it. We cannot judge the actions of our past in the lenses that we wear today. It may be true that we sometimes pay a huge price for the irresponsible actions of our immature self (in today’s context) and makes us regret what we did. But we forget the fact that this is a comparison between two different timelines. If we go down the timeline and ask ourselves about our actions, I am sure that we will be getting exactly the same answer what we offered then to ourselves. This is how we learn from experience. No regret, no expectation. Take life as it comes ....

You Don't Believe? They Are the Same in My Place...

An Orang Asli Folklore.......

Some Crazy K(r)iya(tu)re of the World

A Weekend Beside the Bay

Disciplinary Divisions in Social Sciences

How would we distinguish the various disciplines within social sciences? What qualifies someone as an Anthropologist and the other as a Sociologist, though they pursue the same academic training in the same department? Do the old disciplinary boundaries still determine the division between disciplines? The difference between disciplines, as I feel, do not exist any more in social sciences. The whole of social sciences could be regarded as one single discipline taking into account the inter-disciplinary approach that have dominated the social science research today. There existed differences in the way we looked at social phenomena. The approach and methodology of the various social scientists were different and that created compartmentalization among disciplines. However, I am not arguing that this difference in approach in social sciences do not exist anymore. It certainly does. But the research in social sciences has become more inter-disciplinary. It freely borrows from other disciplines where the individual disciplines lose their separate identity and create a shared social science discipline. Earlier, Anthropology was considered as the study of culture and primitive (village/tribal) communities/ societies. It followed a very unique tradition of fieldwork and ethnography (qualitative description) and asked micro level questions. In contrast, Sociology was the study of social structures, human interactions, and order & change in society (Auguste Comte). It asked broad and macro level questions and followed a more quantitative approach. Sociology was distinguished from Anthropology in terms of its focus and specialization on modern and industrialized society. As is the case in India, if Anthropology was introduced by the British to civilize the tribes, Sociology, not only in India but also world over, was introduced to understand the problems of modern industrial society.

Similar, is the case with other disciplines. The primacy of ‘space’ is emphasized in Geography. The primacy of economy is emphasized in Economics. Psychology studied the behavioral and attitudinal aspect of human beings. Political Science dealt with the study of power and politics in society. It specialized in the study of state, political parties, elections and political behavior of the people in society. But today, Sociologists also study the state, civil society, electoral politics and forms of government and state-building which used to be considered as the purview of Political Scientists. Similarly, political scientists also study the social structures and their implications for the state and power structures in society. The sociologists also have developed sub-disciplines like ‘political sociology’, ‘economic sociology’, ‘urban sociology’, ‘cultural studies’, ‘political economy’, etc. The study of ‘Space’ is no longer the specialization of Geography. Similarly, ‘social structure’ is no longer the arena of enquiry of Sociology, or ‘power’ and ‘politics’ of Political Science, and ‘culture’ of Anthropology. Anthropologists now without restraint use the political economy approach to study the micro social phenomena in the community level. What now brings the Sociologist and Geographers together is the idea of ‘social space’ – a physical territory that determines human interaction. In this sense, there is nothing today which is the sole domain of a particular discipline within social sciences. Same issue is being approached differently by different disciplines. The water tight divisions/ compartmentalization between different disciplines, though there exist many (subtle) differences, do not exist anymore within social sciences. It would be wise, as I feel, to call the whole social science as one single shared discipline.

Caging the Wandering Heart

What a wonderful Life in Udaipur? I miss it dude!!!!! The Place, the People and the friends. They are simply great!!!!!!! Nomadic life......Wandering feelings ....exciting tours and finally the erosion of erotic experices.......Weather changes; life turns upside down and the most sacred feelings of life go unrecognised or meet shocking news....This is life!!! We learn to live our life through our experinces and move on....Its not always a rosy day my dude...There is a shift - from the old experiences to new uncertainties and finally to future shocks.
After a long six months of leave from the scheduled and organised life Singapore, I am back again here. Life here in Singapore is alrite. Business here is as usual. Nothing has changed. Its exactly the same. I think I liked Udaipur a lot where life may be slow but brings different things everyday. It keeps changing there in every passing moment. Life here in the advanced cities like Singapore is very fast but is stagnant. Life has almost stopped experiencing the newness. Everyday is the same old thing. The place may have changed here with new infrastructures and buildings but life is as usual. Life here is predictable with the same pattern. There are no surprises.

Simplicity and calmness of life loses its charm in the metros. The deep dark nights in Kotra, the fear of ghosts, the sounds of the river and the chirpings of the birds, the narrow dirty streets, the stray cows, the red trucks, and the roadside tea stalls...Not here dude. What you have here is....tall sky scrappers, shopping malls, multiplex and the artificial wonderlands..Last weekend, I, along with some good old friends visited a new and much talked Shopping mall besides the Sentosa Island. We wached the movie called "The Freedom Writers Diary".
The view from the Mall was great. Wish you were there with me.....but you were not there, and will not be there anymore. This was a wakeup call to the subconscious human dreams.....that was the tragic end of the purity of a heart. "Freedom of human being is necessary, but have no idea about the effects of the freedom of human hearts". It really hurts....Cage it, confine it.....Its time for the wandering tribes to settle down.

Kapilash Shiva Temple

It is situated in the north east corner of Dhenkanal town at a distance of 26 Km from the district head quarters.The temples is situated in about 2239 feet from the sea level.The temple is 60 feet in height .
there are two approaches for the temple.One is through climbing 1352 steps and the other is ‘Barabanki’ or the travel twisting way.NarasinghdevaI constructed the temple for Sri Chandrasekhar in 1246AD indicated in the Kapilas temples inserption .In the left side ‘Payamrta kunda’and in the right side ‘Marichi kunda’ exists.
The temple has a wooden Jagamohana.Sri Ganesh,Kartikeya,Gangadevi,etc are found in the temple.Patita pavana Jaganath also remain in the temple as ‘Parsa deva’.Lord Biswanath templ is also situated in Kapilas .
According to some scholors this temple is older than the Chandrasekahr jew temple,hence it is known as ‘Budha linga’ .
There are many legends about kapilas pitha and its significance.History says it was the ashram of Kapila muni,to some scholars it is the second Kailash of Lord Siva.
Dridhar swami who wrote commentary on Srimad Bhagavatham stayed ther .There are some monastries in the premises.Lord chandra sekhara worshipped by the chintapatis.

Holi - The Festival of Colours

As the brief spring warms the landscape, northern India cuts loose for a day of hijinx and general hilarity. The festival of Holi is celebrated on the day after the full moon in early March every year.

Originally a festival to celebrate good harvests and fertility of the land, Holi is now a symbolic commemmoration of a legend from Hindu Mythology. The story centres around an arrogant king who resents his son Prahlada worshipping Lord Vishnu. He attempts to kill his son but fails each time. Finally, the king's sister Holika who is said to be immune to burning, sits with the boy in a huge fire. However, the prince Prahlada emerges unscathed, while his aunt burns to death. Holi commemorates this event from mythology, and huge bonfires are burnt on the eve of Holi as its symbolic representation.

This exuberant festival is also associated with the immortal love of Krishna and Radha, and hence, Holi is spread over 16 days in Vrindavan as well as Mathura - the two cities with which Lord Krishna shared a deep affiliation. Apart from the usual fun with coloured powder and water, Holi is marked by vibrant processions which are accompanied by folk songs, dances and a general sense of abandoned vitality.

Today Holi is an excuse for Indians to shed inhibitions and caste differences for a day of spring fever and Big Fun. Teenagers spend the day flirting and misbehaving in the streets, adults extend the hand of peace, and everyone chases everyone else around, throwing brightly colored powder (gulal) and water over each other.

The festival's preamble begins on the night of the full moon. Bonfires are lit on street corners to cleanse the air of evil spirits and bad vibes, and to symbolize the destruction of the wicked Holika, for whom the festival was named. The following morning, the streets fill with people running, shouting, giggling and splashing. Marijuana-based bhang and thandai add to the uninhibited atmosphere.

Promptly at noon, the craziness comes to an end and everyone heads to either the river or the bathtub, then inside to relax the day away and partake of candies. In the afternoon an exhausted and contented silence falls over India. Although Holi is observed all over the north, it's celebrated with special joy and zest at Mathura, Vrindavan, Nandgaon, and Barsnar. These towns once housed the divine Krishna.

Each area celebrates Holi differently; the Bhil tribesmen of western Madhya Pradesh, who've retained many of their pre-Hindu customs, celebrate holi in a unique way. In rural Maharashtra State, where the festival is known as Rangapanchami it is celebrated with dancing and singing. In the towns of Rajasthan — especially Jaisalmer — the music's great, and clouds of pink, green, and turquoise powder fill the air. The grounds of Jaisalmer's Mandir Palace are turned into chaos, with dances, folk songs, and colored-powder confusion.


N.B: Top Picture - My Dad posing for a Picture during Holi
Middle one - Rubbing the Monkey Face
Last One - My brother, causin and uncle during the Holi in my village

Source: The Indian Express