Maslenitsa in Indian style or Holi in Russian

What do Russian Maslenitsa and Indian Holi have in common? Perhaps one thing – the mood! An indescribable spring mood, a state when winter is already ending, and spring is about to begin. Our climate is different, nature is completely different, but spring is still felt bright and joyful.

Last Sunday in the Moscow House of Nationalities, the Russian-Indian Friendship Society “Disha” held a holiday – Holi and Maslenitsa.

We must immediately admit that the main attributes of both holidays were absent. There were no pancakes, instead guests were offered Indian sweets. And no one, of course, burned the effigy of Winter. However, the main attribute of Holi – sprinkling and pouring paint – also did not exist.

“They didn’t let us,” Dr. Rameshwar Singh from Disha smiles and spreads his hands.

“In our conditions it is very difficult to do this,” explains Sergey Anufrienko, director of the Moscow House of Nationalities. – On the Holi holiday, they put on special clothes that they don’t mind getting dirty, they grease open areas of the skin, and cover their hair. In India, at this time it is warm, paint is not only sprinkled, but also poured over. It is impossible for us to do this, especially indoors.

As to how easy it is to clean up after Holi, holiday guests have given conflicting reports. But they agree on one thing – unforgettable impressions!

– You’re walking down the street, suddenly you bang! – doused with a stream of water with paint. Move on, bang! – sprinkled with another paint, – said one of the girls. She explained that Holi, like Maslenitsa, lasts at least a week, and during all this time you can get a portion of paint on the street at any time.

However, even without pancakes and without paint, the holiday was a success. At the entrance, guests were sprinkled with rose petals and glued between the eyebrows of a bindi – a colored sticker. Opened the third eye. Master classes were held on the second floor in the hall. To begin with, the guests were shown one of the basic and simplest breathing techniques: kapalabhati (“glowing forehead”). This is a sharp short exhalation through the nose with a tightening of the abdominal muscles and a passive slow breath. Kapalabhati increases lung capacity, quickly relieves stress, has a positive effect on the mental state of a person, and even stops panic attacks. Well, at the same time clears the nose – very useful in our climate! However, she has contraindications: kapalabhati is not recommended for pregnant women and people with a hernia or pathologies of the cardiovascular system.

In the next room, mehendi was painted for the guests. This is a henna pattern on the hands – a traditional decoration in India, and other countries of the East. Mehendi has become popular with us recently, in Moscow you can even find salons where you will be decorated in this way. Henna drawing, unlike a tattoo, is not eternal: it turns pale and gradually fades away. Its lifespan depends on care: if you pre-treat the skin with peeling, and then fix the drawing with oil, then it can last up to a month.

Rangoli was laid out on the floor of rose petals – a drawing of happiness, a drawing-prayer. These short-lived ornaments are made from colored rice, colored powder or rose petals. It is believed that if the house is beautifully decorated, then the goddess of happiness Lakshmi will definitely visit it.

Lectures were held in the next room. Here they talked about the traditional painting of the Russian North, about the Indian state of Punjab and about many other things.

The yoga master was replaced by a percussionist who played the traditional Indian instrument, the tabla. This is a steam drum. Surprisingly, with the help of this ancient instrument (the first paired drums appeared two thousand years ago), the master easily imitated the sounds of a helicopter and a train.

In modern realities, relations between Russia and India will grow stronger, Dr. Rameshwar Singh and Sergei Anufrienko believe. And the number of such joint projects will grow. Once upon a time, every Soviet child knew that “Hindi Rusi is bhai-bhai.” It seems that modern youth has already forgotten what this phrase means.

Don’t worry, remember.

Yana Mayevskaya.

Author’s photo