Flying colours, splashes of water and the intoxicating taste of Bhang everywhere – the festival of Holi is one of the most widely celebrated occasions in India.
Lath-mar holiis one of the most unique celebrations of the festival in the Braj region. According to Hindu mythology, Krishna, who lived in Nandgaon, would visit his beloved Radha, in her native village, Barsana. He’d tease her and her friends, the cow herding gopis,mercilessly, only for them to chase him and his gops (cow-herding friends) away using lathis, or sticks.
Over the years, this legend has become a Holi tradition in the twin villages of Barsana and Nandgaon, where the festival is celebrated not just with colours, song and dance, but also a thorough pounding for the men.
This celebration of Lath-maar holiis also supposed to represent the playful relationship between a bride and her brother-in-law.
As the evening sets in, the men start dressing up as gops, covering their heads with elaborate turbans which are filled with cotton to protect their heads. From the elderly to the youngest, every man participates with enthusiasm and joy.
However, beneath this seemingly fun tradition is a dark side that allows widespread assault and severe abuse towards women. Men from Nandgaon enact the role of Krishna, provoking the women and men of Barsana by singing songs and hurling provocative, sexually explicit abuses.
The men take full advantage of the license the festival grants them, spraying coloured water and smearing coloured powder on the women as they tease them.
However, losing control here isn't just about playing with too much colour and drinking bhang. It is about getting groped, targeted and molested. No women can be prepared for the nakedness of the mentality of the men present.
Men shamelessly rob women off their modesty. They make vulgar hand gestures and use the choicest of abuses individually on a lot of women, especially those who aren’t locals.
They follow them around, targeting their breasts and posteriors with their pichkaris, usually filled with water and glassed powder. These are just some of the countless outrageous incidents that occur during the Lath-mar-holi.
Holi is supposed to be a festival for everyone to celebrate. But unfortunately, some men use it as an excuse to force themselves on women and behave in a horrifying manner. It’s a dire need for this to be put to an end but it’s really hard to change the narrative due to the mentality that’s passed down generations.
At a festival meant to unify people together, a festival of harmony and colours, women are left feeling fearful and distraught. Instead of smearing colours on each other, they are smeared with shame and fear. Instead of rejoicing, they are left with scars for a lifetime.
Holi celebrations were created to be a display of love, fun and equality, an occasion where even the gods came down to witness, according to its participants. But in many parts of the Braj region, the celebration of Holi is completely anti-thetical to that belief.
