#btw i hope you all know that Bhaishmi is actually another name off Rukmini 👀

[ramayantika]

Braj ki Holi [Ch-1]

MASTERLIST

Vrindavan Cottage was a nice place to stay for young travellers like us. The entire area housed duplex buildings with two to three rooms, depending on the booking and the number of members. There were two rooms on the ground floor with two double beds, and the third room lay upstairs with a single bed. They even had a small backyard laid with a table to have evening snacks or breakfast. The rooms were neat and well-maintained. Did I mention we had free wi-fi?

It was our second day in Vrindavan. I was wide awake in my room with my alarm ringing with a melodious flute tune from my favourite TV serial, ‘Mahabharat.’ Yeah, I could have slept in till 8 am or 9, but I was in Vrindavan, so I got up early to bask in the soothing early morning of this divine place where tales of mischief and friendship, good over evil, young innocent love and duties are still sung and celebrated in the narrow lanes of this town.

I walked to the backyard and sat on the chair, and closed my eyes. Removing my rubber band, I brushed my hair with the help of my fingers and laid it on the back of my chair. Krishna’s flute composition rang in my ears, and unknowingly, I smiled at the memory. This morning would have been more perfect if he were here to play his melodious music on his flute. It would have been the two of us, the light blue six am sky with clouds lined up in a large mesh-like structure and a gentle morning breeze. Ethereal!

Krishna had texted me yesterday evening asking which hotel were we staying at. His siblings and Arjun were staying at their relative’s house in Vrindavan, which was only an hour's drive from here. My heart skipped a beat when he told me that he was planning to come here soon.

Today was Ekadashi where Phoolan Holi would be celebrated at the Banke Bihari temple in the evening. This event lasted for twenty to thirty minutes, where the temple priests would shower flower petals on the devotees assembled instead of the usual gulaal. The three of us were excited to experience this flowery Holi celebration. The temple was half an hour away from Vrindavan Cottage. Our parents had already hired a driver to take us around Vrindavan.

My cousins were sleeping soundly in their rooms, giving their bodies rest and saving their energy for today’s trip. Before attending Phoolan Holi, we had decided to visit Prem Mandir, Madan Mohan temple, Shri Gopinath Ji temple and Katyayani Peeth. We would start at 9 am after breakfast and visit the temples. Somewhere in the middle, we would have our lunch at a local eatery and then go to Banke Bihari in the evening and come back to our hotel.

After sitting in the backyard for around fifteen minutes, I decided to take a stroll around the cottage premises. It was only seven in the morning, and not a soul was in sight except some cleaners. There was a small temple nearby, and I could hear a few Hare Krishna chants which sounded soothing to my ears. More than the voice of the singers, it was the name that soothed me the most, making me feel fuzzy on the inside. Surely God Krishna would forgive me for remembering my Krishna from the train? Well, God Krishna is cool, so he won’t mind me.

The entire campus was divided by a wide road with cottages on either side. There was a small park too for kids and a pond with lilies. I went to the park and sat on a swing when my phone buzzed in my pocket.

Who is calling me so early in the morning? I wondered.

Fetching my phone from my pocket, I glanced at the screen, which instantly made me smile. It was Krishna! Instantly I smoothened my hair and patted my face before accepting his call.

‘Hi! Sorry to disturb you so early in the morning.” What the hell! How does his voice sound so melodious this early?

Ignoring my questions about his voice, I answered cheerfully, “First of all, a very good morning to you flute player. And no, you did not disturb me because I was already awake half an hour ago.”

He chuckled and paused for five seconds before saying, “Yesterday, all of us were tired, so we did not call you guys up about meeting again. Since you are staying for a week here in Vrindavan and Mathura, and this is my native place, I thought if you all would come with us and celebrate Holi.”

Well, that did sound nice. Wait a minute! Not nice, this was exciting. We wouldn’t need a guide to visit other temples, and with Krishna, we could participate with the locals in the festival. Our parents had asked us to not mingle too much in the crowd in case we got lost or worse abducted, but with Krishna, we could go safely.

“I don’t think my cousins will object to the plan. But how do we go about it?”

Even though I could not see him, I could imagine his million-dollar smile and hear his excitement as he answered, “I have it all sorted. Dau, Subhadra, Arjun and I were planning about this the entire night. Subhadra was so excited that she was about to video call you at 3 am to discuss. Anyway, leave that part, we should focus on the important task. Today is Ekadashi, so you all enjoy the Phoolan Holi. Tomorrow we all will come and pick you up at nine in the morning and go to Gokul for Chhadi Maar Holi. I am sure Ranvit would like it because he missed Barsana and Nandgaon’s Lathmaar Holi. And that’s enough information for the first part of Brajbhoomi’s grand Holi celebration. You all just be ready by nine tomorrow. Also, we asked Subhadra to not disclose anything else to you guys, so no help or hints from her side, too.” He paused again for ten seconds. “And no, we certainly aren’t plotting to murder you all.”

I couldn’t contain my laughter. “Oh, damn! I thought you wanted to kill me and dispose of my body.”

“Now, let us not talk about murder in the morning. But, yeah, we all have planned some fun stuff for you guys. So, see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, bye-bye!” I cut the call and placed my phone inside my pocket. Smiling to myself, I went inside our cottage to wake my cousins up and tell them about this plan.

Krishna had told me about his childhood in Brajbhoomi. He was born here and spent his early childhood here, after which he had to move to Gujarat. He still maintained contact with some of his childhood friends, and this was the first time he was visiting this place after seven years. He even told me about his childhood best friend, Radha, who lived nearby his house when they were young, and he often annoyed her with his pranks and mischief. He was excited to meet her in person after so many years and was keen to make me meet her too if we got a chance, which I was sure we would.

I hopped my way back to the cottage and pushed Bhumi’s room door open. She never locks her room while sleeping, fearing that she won’t be able to open the door quickly in case a ghost lands inside her room. I poked her shoulder and gently shook her.

She frowned and turned to the other side. “Sssh don’t disturb.”

“I have news from Krishna, sister.” I knew this would wake her 

up in an instant.

And she did wake up. She jerked from her sleep and sat up. “Oh my God! Really? What did he say? Are you two-”

I swatted her arm and told her about our trip which Krishna had planned. After hearing the entire conversation, her sleepy face appeared all charged up with energy. “And now you both will get to talk so much. Holi is also quite romantic, isn’t it? You both can put colours on each. Nervous hands touching each other’s face and maybe-’

I closed my ears and ran out while Bhumi sat on the bed, curled up in her bedsheet, laughing, “You may run away from my thoughts but don’t forget to thank me when this turns true.”

“Shut up and get ready, Bhumi!” I yelled and ran to Ranvit’s room to wake him up.

***

We were heading towards Banke Bihari after a heavy lunch at an amazing restaurant. It would still take an hour to reach the temple and Bhumi had dozed off in the car after lunch, leaving me and Ranvit to talk about the other temples we visited during the daytime.

“Which temple did you like the most?” Ranvit asked me, adjusting his shoulder slightly as Bhumi used his shoulder as a pillow.

“Prem Mandir!” I exclaimed. “I was amazed at the construction and the beauty of the temple. It looked like a palace to me, more than a temple.”

Prem Mandir was indeed the most beautiful of all the temples we visited today. It was a new temple, not an ancient one like the others, but the area and the ambience were suffused with love and devotion just like the meaning of the name of the temple. The temple courtyard was a large area for the visitors to smoothly enter and exit or rest for a while. To the right was the temple complex, and on the left were various panels, showing various events and stories about Radha Krishna. The guide told us that evening was the best time to come here when the entire building would appear colourful accompanied by musical fountain shows. But, we had gone there during the day which had less crowd so we were still able to enjoy the beauty of the temple as well as pray to the deities.

“True! The other temples were great, but Prem Mandir was something else. Marble structures look so beautiful,” said Ranvit. “But I like how in the other temples, we saw the murtis, they had this traditional look which we see in folk art. Well, folk art was inspired by traditional imagery of the deities though. But, you see, even though Prem Mandir was exquisite with the panels and construction style and of course, the beautiful murtis but the other ones had this local touch, as if they were of our own. I don’t know how to explain that feeling — something like being closer to them, maybe?”

Ranvit loved Indian folk art and was planning to take a class once he would be done with school. He did take drawing classes and even still continues them, but Indian folk art attracts him the most. In the temples, especially at Madan Mohan and at the Radha Gopinath Mandir, he kept staring at the idol. I agreed with his point, too. And ancient temples have their own magic, timeless and enchanting.

A huge jerk interrupted our conversation and woke Bhumi from her afternoon nap in the car. There was a speed breaker which our driver uncle had missed hence the jerk. “Don’t worry! It’s all good,” he said and continued driving. “The temple is just ten minutes away now.”

“Oh, then I have ten more minutes to sleep.” Bhumi dozed off again, but this time chose my shoulders as her pillow.

Ranvit chuckled and moved his gaze towards the window. “By the way, have you informed maasi we are going with Krishna tomorrow? I haven’t informed mummy yet.”

Shit! I did not. “Should we tell them? What if they tell us no for safety reasons? They would be right, but Krishna and all aren’t fishy people but — let’s not tell our parents so soon. Tomorrow anyway they will call us so we can tell them on our way and lie that we are out with some school friends who coincidentally were at the same hotel with their families. What do you say?”

“Let’s do that only. Thankfully, none of them is on Instagram to check with whom we are going. But, do you know I am very excited about this. This is an opportunity of a lifetime and feels like a Bollywood movie you know.” Ranvit turned his head towards me and tapped on the windowpane. “Meeting new people on a train and them making travel plans with you after spending one night with them. Filmy right?”

I smiled. “Yeah, it is. When we will be old, we can boast in front of our kids that we went on a trip with people we met on a train and had a blast. We would be so cool in front of them.”

“Bacha party aagya Banke Bihari,” announced the driver. Bhumi woke up with a jerk and rubbed her eyes and squinted at the temple. It was 3.45 pm with the afternoon sun entering our windows and falling directly over our faces, especially Bhumi’s.

Bhumi wiped her face with those wet wipes she always carries with her while Ranvit and I stepped out of the car and stretched our arms. Bhumi checked her phone and said, “Ah! I have 70% battery left. I will get so many pictures now.”

Ranvit shook his head, saying, “Oh yes, you are our budding influencer. You have to get photos.”

Bhumi scoffed and walked ahead. “Whatever! You have fifty followers because I click your photos. Now come fast.”

The temple gates were already open to allow devotees to come inside. We even spotted a couple of foreigners with their cameras and tripods. The priests were standing near the idol with large baskets full of flowers. In the corridors leading to the inner veranda, many devotees and priests stood with flowers in their fists. Within five minutes, the main area of the temple had a huge crowd. Each person held their breaths in anticipation to witness the glorious flower Holi event.

The clock struck four, and loud cheers reverberated inside the temple. The priests and the temple staff began showering flowers over us and some volunteers were busy distributing fistfuls of flowers to the devotees.

Bhumi closed her eyes and smiled at the flowers falling over her and quickly grabbed her phone to click photographs. We too got some flowers to play Hol, and after throwing the petals in the air, we slowly moved towards the side where the gathering was less.

Bhumi eagerly showed some of her photographs to Ranvit and me and kept her phone inside. Soon gulaal was thrown in the air and everything appeared colourful. Pink, violet, blue red- these colours dominated our surroundings. I clicked a few photos and videos to share them on my Instagram and with my parents.

“That was splendid!” exclaimed Ranvit. Being a painter, his eyes took in the different shades of flowers and gulaal over the people and the idol. “Damn! I will paint this scene.”

“I wonder what Holi would look like here. This is just Ekadashi and look how beautiful everything appears,” I said.

A girl crossed my field of vision. She was wearing a pastel pink blouse and skirt and a matching dupatta around her neck. The crowd instantly circled her. Children were running around her skirt and throwing flowers at her. Some of the elders blessed her and gently applied a teeka over her forehead with gulaal. She smiled at them and bowed to them with a namaste and walked to the deities and bowed to them. The priests allowed her to apply some gulaal to the Krishna murti.

“Who is that girl?” asked Ranvit. Bhumi’s eyes moved towards her and looked at her curiously. “Maybe some VIP I think,” said Bhumi.

The girl looked around my age. Even though she was dressed very simply, she looked angelic. She had tied her hair in a small bun with a gajra. Silver bangles dangled on her left wrist.

“She is quite pretty though, don’t you think?” Bhumi nudged my elbow and whispered.

I nodded at her and moved my eyes away from her lest she find the three of us staring at her. I barely managed to look at her side profile, but she looked like a sculpture come alive.

After the event, we were served prasadams and some sweets. As we made to the exit, we touched the last step of the temple in reverence and folded our hands when I heard a female voice calling out, “Radhika jaldi aana kitna time lagayegi.”

And the temple beauty graced my eyes. She was Radhika and the female voice I heard was standing a little far from us and I guessed that perhaps the other girl was Radhika’s friend.

Bhumi was the first person to go and approach Radhika, being the extroverted person she was. She tapped on her shoulder, making Radhika turn back granting me full access to look at her face. And I must say, beautiful was an understatement. I didn’t know, but she reminded me of Krishna suddenly at that moment.

“You are really pretty,” said Bhumi, with a smile. I dropped my gaze down and pretended to wear my shoes by fussing with the lace. Even I wanted to tell her that, but I had no heart like Bhumi to go straight and approach her.

“Thank you so much. You are?” Radhika said in a sweet voice, and it again reminded me of Krishna.

“I am Bhumi, a tourist here to experience Holi in Brajbhoomi.”

"Oh, I see. Nice to meet you Bhumi. Hope you have a wonderful stay here and have a wonderful Holi.”

I discreetly tried to look at Radhika again. Do you know what happened next? Her eyes quickly darted towards mine, and she passed me a knowing smile as if she knew me. Since she had already acknowledged my presence, I could no longer stay there and pretend to tie my laces for the hundredth time. I waved at her.

She nodded at me and looked at Bhumi. “I need to go back home. May our paths meet again.” She turned back to the exit. Adjusting her dupatta, she looked back for a second, directly at me. I smiled at her in return as goosebumps rose on my skin.

Why was she reminding me of Krishna so much?

***

Taglist: @manwalaage @itsfookingloosah @redirection04 @mrs-tomato-head @lil-stark @yourslove @reallythoughtfulwizard @riiddhhiii (I suggest you to read the previous chapters from the first part and then proceed with this one)

(I need to make a masterlist)