Holi Sh**, what a holiday.

Where do I even start? Indian wedding party, Avatar, the colorful holiday of Holi, company celebration for reaching 100,000 clients, a resurgence in learning Hindi, making Dunkin Donuts coffee on the weekends, relishing the US $1 haircuts, still disgusted by the smell when I get off the metro every morning…….. Oh yeah and the weather has been phenomenal the past few weeks during what I would deem Delhi’s ephemeral Spring season; defined as the month or so between the frustration-inducing winter and the imminent, blistering summer heat.

The month of February absolutely flew by and realized I essentially hadn’t given an update since my trip to Bangalore. So here goes:

1) Indian wedding party – It was a pretty spontaneous move but on a Friday night a few weeks ago, my friend Amit mentioned around 10pm that we should hit up a wedding party in one of the farmhouses in the south of Delhi. (Sidenote – these farmhouses are basically ginormous, extravagant mansions with lavish grounds and high walls for privacy on land that was once extremely cheap but is now unbelievably valuable). The wedding was for a friend of a friend of a friend so clearly I received a special invitation to attend. Regardless, it was amazing how people did not even mind other people showing up and joining in the celebration. At one point, the brother of the groom even came up to me and asked if I was having a good time and mentioned I should participate in the remaining nights of the “wedding fest” which are apparently 4-5 extravaganzas of rituals, celebration and partying. We reached the place around midnight and it seemed as though the party was at just beginning. Upon entering the gate, I was amazed at 1) the size of the house 2) the grounds and decorations, 3) the food tent which had about 30 different stations and waiters getting you anything you could possibly want 4) absolutely stunning saris 5) the DJ, dance floor, and open bar in the back – hello Johnnie Walker Black.  What a night… followed by 3 hours of sleep and the perfunctory full Saturday workday. It was painful.

2)  Avatar – After 9 months, I’ve come to learn that if one wants to escape the dust, dirt, and pollution of India, look no further than the shopping malls; they are seemingly alternate Universes amidst the chaos. In fact, I find it amusing how much I look forward to going to shopping malls here whereas the thought would rarely cross my mind in the US. A few weeks ago, I went to the Ambience Mall (which at 1KM several stories tall is the largest in India) to see the much hyped and anticipated Avatar in 3-D. I would have obviously preferred to see it on IMAX but with no such venues in Delhi, the 3-D sufficed and the movie was well worth the wait.  Further, it helped evened out my Hollywood vs Bollywood movie watching in India of which Bollywood still has a 4-3 edge.

3) Holi – I should probably dedicate an entire post to this colorful Indian holiday but just going to roll with it. Holi or the “Festival of Colors” is one of two major holidays (the other being Diwali) particular to North Indian states. In fact, most of South India does not even observe the holiday. I observed Holi to be more of a joyous occasion spent with family and friends rather than anything truly religious or spiritual. Though Holi was actually on a Monday, people were beginning to celebrate at least 3-4 days in advance with smalls stands selling colored powders, water balloons, and waterguns including Super Soakers which I haven’t seen for years. I’m convinced that more Super Soakers are purchased in India during Holi than the entire summer in the US.

My coworkers had the decency to warn me not to wear anything nice in the office on the Saturday before Holi, knowing full well that the “foreigner” would be the #1 target of a barrage of color and water. Evidenced by the pictures above, they got me pretty good. Further, since the actual Holiday didn’t occur until Monday, I was the only person on the metro and walking around Central Delhi smothered in color. As if my white face doesn’t attract enough attention and staring already…

Unfortunately, I don’t have many pictures from the day of Holi itself because my hands were covered in colored powders, water, ink, etc. all day however you can be assured it was an awesome time.

Pause… you are asking yourself ink? Yes, ink.

I heard stories about people using terrible substances on Holi such as grease but didn’t anticipate that someone would unload an entire bottle of ink on my friend Amit and me. Now seeing as Holi somewhat encourages childish behavior through water balloons and waterguns, we decided what better idea than to load up a bucket of water, buy some squirt guns, hop in an autorickshaw on the way to a Holi party. The 8-year old inside of me was thriving that morning as we nailed people on bikes, pedestrians, and occasional open window. Apparently two guys on a motorcycle were expecting such tactics and decided it would be strategic to carry a bottle of green ink with them to unload at an appropriate time. It just so happened that we fit into that slot. Pardon my French, but what a bunch of @$$holes. It’s supposed to be a fun occasion and it’s difficult enough to wash out all the watery powders at the end of the day. I guess there are pricks everywhere.

Despite “ink episode” the day was a blast and it was just awesome to be outside in mid 80′s, sunny weather in a backyard totally removed from city. I sampled Bhang http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhang which is supposedly legal and unique to Holi. Most people have it mixed in a drink like a milkshake however I tried the basic form which was a chewy tablet and kind of disgusting. Needless to say, it didn’t have much of an effect.

The day ended with an hour and a half process of color removal which was about 80% successful; it would have been 95% however I don’t have a high pressure shower with constant access to hot water. Instead I turn on the geezer for 15 minutes of hot water, then filled up 2 buckets of water and then finished with another use of the geezer.  I guess that’s being resourceful but at 10pm, my affinity for resourcefulness is usually at an all-time low. Ahhhhhhhhh how I look forward to real showers with good water pressure and no concern about the availability of hot water.

4) 100,000 Borrowers –  My microfinance institution reached 100,000 Borrowers as of January 30th so the management decided it was time to have a company-wide celebration full of cultural programs, speeches and awards to recognize individuals and the organization as a whole.

Check out some pics http://picasaweb.google.com/SethIGreenberg/1LakhCelebration#

Upon entering the Ashram (basically a place for cultural activities) where the celebration was held, I was immediately struck by the number of staff present. Since I’ve started, the company has more than tripled in size in terms of both personnel and clients (30,000 back in June) so it’s incredible to see the growth firsthand. Since I’m now the Head of the Internal Audit Department, I was brought up on stage and asked to sit with the rest of the management team which was a huge honor. What I also didn’t expect was to be asked to give a speech in front of everyone, however it really wasn’t too bad considering how welcoming the entire field staff has been to me throughout my time at Satin. I basically just congratulated everyone on their achievements, thanked them for their hospitality whenever I make field visits, and wished them the best of luck in the future. Who needs a public speaking class anyway? I’m beginning to learn that the unexpected and unconventional are only going to benefit me in the future.

After some staff speeches, singing, and showing off their musical abilities, one of the loan officer’s cultural program was a dance to a Punjabi song on stage. Undoubtedly this led to mad, uncontrollable rush to the stage which led me to ask one question: how many Indian guys can you fit dancing together? This video may shock you…

I was thoroughly amused until I was suddenly being pulled by 5 coworkers on stage so that everyone could derive personal enjoyment from seeing the foreigner dancing to Bollywood tunes. Yeah that happened. It was funny once but I think that I’d prefer a middle school slow dance to that next time…

Overall, I think it was a great celebration and truly motivational experience for the field staff. It helped bring together the Head Office and the field staff which often seem like two different entities. However it is the coordination and smooth functioning between by the Head Office and field operation which are critical to the company’s success. Given the company’s ambitious growth plans, it helped them to realize that Satin’s management especially values the hard work that has brought the company to this point.

So these were the highlights of the past few weeks. I’m still experiencing all the peaks and troughs of my Indian life but new holidays, celebrations and adventures always keep it interesting.

Now I’m pumped for my sister, Jess’s, visit this weekend. Til next time, enjoy some Devo.

80′s Music Video Section:

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~ by sethigreenberg on March 11, 2010.