In Holi moo-d

The three-year-old festival is now attracting artistes from across the world

That one day when we all want to roll into one big ball of colour.” That’s how Sarabjit Chadha, singer and songwriter of the band Menwhopause, describes Holi Cow, the annual Holi festival which has been bringing together singers, artists, poets, performers, puppeteers and travelling minstrels.

“Unofficially, Holi Cow has been around for five years, but officially this is the third year of the festival,” says its curator, Raul Chandra who describes himself as a serial story-teller. What started as a day-long underground festival with a group of five artistes has now turned into a month-long affair. Over 45 artists from countries like Belgium, Iraq, Scotland and the UK are participating this time round. The audience, too, has soared from 60 to over 4,000 from across the world. Chandra says they might have to limit the number to 2,000 people given the constraints of the venue, which is a spread across four acres in Chattarpur on the fringes of Delhi.

“There was a time when Holi was celebrated either in the courts or outside the city where musicians and artists would let the madness and the festivities take over,” says Chandra. That’s precisely what Holi Cow plans to revive and relive. The festival’s unusual name is inspired by that emotion. “This is a festival of colour, music and madness, and the name Holi Cow captures all that,” says Kriya Rynjah who does the artwork for the festival. The mascot, a cow wearing glares, smiling a toothy smile and with big udders, was her creation. In the first year, the cow had only a head. But as the festival grew in size and scale, so did the mascot. “The cow got a body and a stance. This year, she appears with an afro hairdo,” says Rynjah.

The month-long events, about 15 of them, are themed around the cow — the Holi Cow Parade with public art installations, Holi Cow Old City Walks, Holi Cow Wall Project and more. For the wall project, three designers “adopted” a wall in Hauz Khas village in an area which had turned into a dumping ground for construction waste. The project created an ecosystem of sorts, with locals and visitors stopping by to watch the designers paint the wall, interact with them and help clean up the area. Another event took participants on cycle rides through old Delhi to areas like Chandni Chowk, the traditional colour mandi and the flower market.

At Chattarpur, three stages have been set up for the artistes to perform: Livewire Stage for live rock, jazz, world music, reggae bands and theater; Electronica Stage for electronic dance music, hip hop, drum and bass; Folk Stage for global and Indian folk, puppetry, poetry, Sufi and street music. A fourth stage — Rabbit Hole —, though not planned initially, has also come up to accommodate the swelling number of participants. On every stage, the cow forms the backdrop, either playing on a console or holding a mike in its hoofs.

“This will be our third year at the festival,” says Mohammed Abood of Reggae Rajahs which is touted as India’s first reggae sound system. Baghdad-born Abood, who was raised in Delhi and goes by the name of DJ MoCity, says for him the experience has been beyond words. “It’s an experience to be painted,” he says. Other participants include Mob Marley Inc, Delhi Sultanate, minstrels, one of whom has been given the name of ‘Benaras Bhang Baba’ and the ‘Dilli Dhol People’ — the drummers of Delhi. “The festival is also an attempt to revive and showcase the art which is getting lost in this urban jungle,” says Chandra. For about 30 per cent of the artistes, this will be a debut act.

Entry to the festival is through invites. Chandra says though they have no sponsors, they have been able to sustain the festival because of the support of the artistes, 90 per cent of whom have been performing for free.