A.J.

The neverending jam crosses the Ganges again....

And so the day before holi....a late start, few plans other than coffee and possibly going across the Ganges for sunset again...went through the alleys rather than the ghats, change of scene...was pounced upon by a group of kids carrying water bombs...well I say water...pink, purple and blue...and was well and truly got by them...I've got a holi shirt, white(of course) linen which was hit within an hour of being put on...its now a random psychedelic experience...and turned up at the coffee place dripping dye and purple handed....where I bumped into Jens...and so after coffee and WiFi we went back along the alleys to buy some defensive armaments....
Found a stall where I got a water pistol and some dye...and fired my first squirt...firstly the stall owner tried to steal 300 rupees off me by short changing me and only relented when one of the locals berated him...then when I filled the gun twenty yards away it was broken...returning I was told, no guarantee before being ranted at and, basically, told to piss off... now the malfunctioning gun had covered me in purple holi dye, and he was such an utter tosser, that only one thing could be done...and so he got blasted with the remainder of the purple...not pleased I think...but maybe such shit attitudes and dishonesty bring such meaningless retaliations....
So, I bought another gun...and some balloons and some plastic bags to make coloured bombs out of...and we need more powders of both wet and dry varieties. The street outside Vishnu towers is now utterly saturated in coloured dye...oddly, or not, just due to the events of the day, I've hardly carried the camera...
Some of the afternoon was spent throwing bombs from the roof...one irate Russian threatening to find us alone and kill us...this is holi we replied...I don't like, I not let this happen to me, I kill anyone...etc...rant....
My right hand is purple, left red...

And so we went off in a boat to watch sunset....this is aj...the heart of the jam...brilliant singer and guitarist, possibly the coolest person in Varanasi. It was almost one of him and Milo but when I showed them the photos this is the one that got the reaction....I like it...it reminds me of a photo on my friend zoli's wall...just the perspective...and then a wander into the chaos of the city in search of a bhang lassi which someone, not me, thought would be a good idea and it was. The jam has just broken up...tonight it was on the terrace...one small monkey invasion....and I remembered to record it...and some of it was just wonderful....I think....

And tomorrow everything closes down for holi....at about eleven tomorrow night the pyres are lit and utter chaos ensues...I expect the next two days will be coloured blips then:-)