Yes..
the festivites began with cleaning of the house..
tap to battam..meaning ‘cobwebbbing’ from roof n all dem ledges..
washing walls with caustic soda..imagine my sisters hands used to peel!!
Then the Holika burning in matya the nightbefore as I mentioned
Washing all the fabric from window blinds …n changing into the ‘Christmas’ (holiday) ones
Early morning my maa wud put on a big pot of water to boil n make a beer n whn this was cooled, she poured itinto ‘flatties’ that had corks with nail- holes..
i loved this concept as it sprinkled the beer that than make a big mess ..
buy it looked nice on our lily white frocks n shirt ..
so whilst my Maa be bz in kitchen making gojha , gulgula, parsad ..we used to bathe n dress up with our nice white dresses.
meanwhile my older sis made sweet rice n wet vermicelli n paratha roti (this was dinner ..everybody fasting)..ie no salt food!
So in the aft was playing time with ur a beer n powder..a few relatives would come around in the afternoon n play with us..
a cuz who used to work in GT used to come with her 4 kids who were staying with their grandma…she used to bring several cans of white powder ..Saturday Night n My Fair lady..she wud leave the 1 can with each one of us..n she wud give us a small piece..10 -25 cents .