Tomorrow, we celebrate the Public Holiday of Phagwah. This was instituted back on 17th March 1967 when the Public Holidays (Amendment) Act 1967 was assented to by Governor General Sir David Rose. A week later, on March 24th, for the first time since Hindus had landed in 1838, the festival could be celebrated without children “skulking” from school or adults missing a day’s pay from their jobs. Phagwah was one of the two festivals celebrated in style by the indentured labourers – the other being Shia Muslim-origin Muharram – whether or not the authorities approved.
Some have wondered why the Guyanese legislation referred to “Phagwah” rather than “Holi”, which is more common across the globe where the festival is celebrated. The reason is that the vast majority of Hindus who were shipped into Guyana between 1838 and 1917 were from the “Bhojpuri Belt” in Eastern UP and western Bihar. There the month of Phalgun in which the festival falls was used to euphoniously name it. “Holi”, however, is more common across North India, which also has other customs associated with the spring festival.
In the “Braj” regions of western UP, Holi focuses on the life of Lord Krishna who lived and frolicked there as a child with the milkmaids (Gopis). The “pitchkari” or water syringe that is used to squirt the abeer or red liquid is a popular trope in this tradition. In South India, Holi is not too popular and where it is observed, the central figure is the Hindu God of love, Kamadeva. In the Bhojpuri Belt, the story of Prahalad serves as the narrative for the celebration.
Prahalad’s father, King Hiranyakashipu had earned a boon from the Creator Lord Brahma that he could not be killed by human or animal, from inside or outside, by day or by night, and that no weapon could harm him. He became arrogant and tyrannical towards his subjects while insisting he was even more powerful that the Sustainer Lord Vishnu. Prahalad, however, insisted that Lord Vishnu was to be worshipped and preached this message to all his school friends.
His father was furious and used several stratagems to kill Prahalad – all of them unsuccessfully. In one instance he had his sister, Holika, who could not be harmed by fire, take Prahalad on her lap in a burning pyre. But protected by Lord Vishnu, he emerged unscathed. In the Phagwah/Holi celebrations, the event is recreated as “Holika Dahan” – the burning of Holika during the night before the celebrations. Those celebrations commemorate the destruction of Hiranyakshipu by Lord Vishnu in the form of his Narsimha, half-man/half-lion incarnation – neither man nor animal. It happened at 6 pm – neither day nor night – and on the palace’s threshold – neither inside nor outside and by Narsimha’s claws – not any weapon.
The import of the story is very apropos for our Guyanese circumstances in view of our post-independence history of tyrannical rule. It teaches that even well-meaning leaders can succumb to the trappings of power and descend into despotism. But it also emphasises that all subjects – even those who may benefit from the tyrant’s wealth have a duty to stand up and oppose the tyrant’s excesses. Ultimately, the truth will triumph over untruth and good over evil, but it takes the efforts of men and women to achieve that.
In Guyana, the celebration of Phagwah has long transcended the Hindu community, and like the Christian Christmas is celebrated in most communities. It is most likely that this is not on account of the moral of “good over evil”, but because of the carnivalesque nature of the Phagwah celebrations with the splashing of water, abeer, and smearing of coloured powders on one and all in joyous abandon. But even this facet of Phagwah has its positive import since social boundaries of all types – especially interethnic – are transgressed on this day and we behave as our motto exhorts, “one people”.
Maybe Phagwah has a lesson for us in our nation-building project: encourage institutions that bring all our people together to act in unison.
