Jaipur - Holi at Shahpura Haveli
March 6th 2015
Today we will be heading out into the countryside to celebrate Holi. During our drive, our driver stopped at a local “cafe” for us to try some of the traditional Holi drink called Thandia. This drink is a spiced milk-based cold drink made with nuts (almonds, melon seeds), seeds (fennel, poppy), spices (saffron, cardamom, pepper), rose petals, and sugar, known for its cooling properties. There were cot style benches for us to sit and relax while we were there. Our guide also gave us purple bindi dots to mark the days celebration. Purple had no real meaning, but is used as a fashion or celebratory statement.
Roadside “cafe” where we stopped for Thandia drinks.
We continued our drive and saw many more signs of Holi. There were carts selling the colored powder as well as many people that looked like they were already celebrating, as well as sacred cows wondering the streets.
Colored powder used to celebrate Holi.
Next, our tour guide/driver took us to Shahpura Haveli to celebrate Holi. Shahpura Haveli is a 300-year-old heritage hotel located in Shahpura, Rajasthan, approximately 65 km from Jaipur city. It is known for blending Indian and Mughal architectural styles. The royal family restored this property and turned it onto a hotel and event space for various activities.
Shahpura Haveli
Here, we got to participate in the Holi festivities with the local family and other western guests. Natural and herbal colors were used to smear or throw on each other as well as water cannons to spray each other with. The throwing of these colors is a playful way to break down social barriers and celebrate the arrival of spring. We were provided with traditional white kurta pyjamas for men and salwar suits for women to wear during the color play.
Here we are in our traditional white kurta pyjamas and salwar suit.
After the color play we hung out with the other guests and had snacks and beverages. Then we had a chance to clean up.
The dye did not wash out of our skin very easily. Apparently you should put lotion on before the celebration so it will not stain you skin. Our driver took us to a place that did massages with oil that would take out the stains on our skin. It did take most of it out, but not all of it. We did get cleaned up enough to get some photos with a cow!
