Holi. I did not play holi. But I did go out with my best friend S to the #8 and further bit more ahead. Various hues on men tripling on bikes, with silver and gold paint smeared across the faces. They looked very friendly and happy.
There were unlit Holi bonfires; the police must be angry because people damage the trees and phone lines in vicinity of these bonfires; or maybe it was due to bad wood that didn't burn properly.
There was a dead body at the square, the one near the temple near the railway line. There was a fat man who, like a ragdoll, was slouched against the electricity pole. His face was all smashed up, such that neither me nor S could call him human, and he wasn't moving. Our eyes were fixed on him as we passed the square. My friend asked me to take a picture; "Take a picture," he said. I didn't have a camera. After I said "good bye" to S who was going to see T and have some alcohol and pepsi cola at T's house, I returned back the same way as the dead fatso. The dead fatso moved, it was a relief to learn that he was alive. It was Bhang, obviously; Bhang is a substance that makes people go crazy. But more than the Bhang, it was what others did to him - the liberal use of paint and sprays - that had us tricked into thinking he was oozing things that make people dead.
My walk back home was more exciting. Families playing Holi had got done with it; now it was the kids who were left to focus on the innocent wayfarers passing their bungalows. I also found my predators, two kids armed with water guns with large ammo (i.e. water tanks) and balloons. This one guy went ahead of me and got splashed. I was smart - I kept myself on the heels of that person, and soon as the first wave of assault ended, I dashed for escape, the kids caught unaware in astonishment. The prey outrunning the predator. I didn't get wet. Thank heavens.