Ang se ang lagana sajan hame aise rang lagana, a hindi song blasting in the background, head reeling with bhang and a coloured-water balloon in the hand — these men think they can get away with anything on Holi. But the ‘burra na manno Holi hai’ excuse to feel up women in the pretext of putting gulal cannot be tolerated any more, say Bangalore women.
“An incident that took place 10 years back has left me scarred for life,” said Shilpa Kalyan, a faculty member at Presidency College.
“I was 12-years-old then and was standing at the bus stop near my house for the bus. Since we had a march past at school, I was wearing a white uniform. Two hooligans came on a bike and threw water on me. They screamed with joy at their act and ran away. Maybe they got some pleasure out of it but it was definitely not my idea of fun,” she said.
Shilpa added that in the name of celebration, women are victimised. “It’s the pleasure they get from seeing women in wet clothes. At that time I couldn’t even share this with anyone. I don’t enjoy the festival now,” she said. In fact, the harassment begins a week ago and not only on the day of the festival. Just a day prior to Holi, on March 26, Roopa Shri was harassed near her house in Uttarahalli at 12 in the afternoon. “I was coming back home when a guy stopped my bike on the main road and tried to put colour on me. I somehow escaped and reached back home safely,” said Roopa, who is currently completing her MA in Pune and has come home for holidays.
Incidents of groping, balloons being targeted at private parts etc are quite ‘common’ during this festival.
Around two years ago, Sujata M (name changed) was harassed by a bunch of men near her residence in Jayanagar. “After playing Holi, my friends and I had gone to a nearby place to eat. A bunch of men attacked us there. Instead of putting colour on my face, they felt me up and their hands were all over body. I screamed. Fortunately there was a police chowki nearby and the men ran away,” she said.
Sriranjini Nair who lives in J P Nagar 7th phase recounts a similar incident, “It was a few years ago when I was still studying in college. We had decided to go out and celebrate Holi with a few friends on the streets. There were quite a few people who consumed bhang or were probably drunk dancing on the roads. A man came up to us and asked if he could apply colours. We didn’t want to sound rude, so we said yes. Soon, I realised that his hands were all over my friend’s face and body. We started yelling but the guy managed to escape. After that, we went back to our hostel and decided not to play Holi.”
What can we do when victimised?
Many women feel it is better to stay indoors instead of being made a victim openly on the streets. Also when ‘caught’ what choice do they have but to let these men have their way?
“In 2001, when I was playing Holi, a gang of boys which also included some of my friends lifted me and started applying colour all over my body. I was very terrified. I just closed my eyes and waited for the torture to get over. What else could I have done? I could feel their hands all over my body. I felt very disgusted and from that day onwards I have stopped playing Holi. In fact, I started hating it,” said Parimala Venkatesh, a resident of HSR Layout.
Unlike previous years, when Holi was a social festival, today, for women, it has forcibly become a family affair. The problem with the festival is that unknown men are also emboldened to make their move, which otherwise they would not have dared.
“I feel, if demoness Holika was burnt and as a result we celebrate this festival, then today, ironically, it is a festival to humiliate women by the demon in men. If you resist them, you are not in the festive spirit. If you are sportive, you are in for sexual harassment. Even if we protest, the public thinks that we are playing spoilsport. I think it is a festival which has today disguised itself to be a day when women can be openly harassed in the name of our rich culture,” said Manisha Seam, an entrepreneur.