Missing Bangladesh and the Festivities

Bangladesh may not be the best country to live in nor a place to tour, but it has its own charm, if only you open your eyes and mind, you will be enchanted by this small and young country too. What I miss most of Bangladesh aside from the friends and family I left there, is the winter season from late November to early March. It's a very pleasant weather. In the city, the temperature gets cold like Baguio City during the 80's, while in the hilly parts, it gets too cold that people die because of the cold temperature.

Early morning winter, it's getting denser.

And since it's winter there, it's also considered the "Wedding Month". One of H's cousin is set to get married this month. They already held their "holud" last wednesday and the wedding is today.

The engaged couple wears yellow or orange for the Holud 

Holud is one of the many festivities in connection of a wedding celebration. It's commonly practice in Muslim religion and Hindu religion, and it became a Bengali Tradition. Some Christians/Catholics adapts this celebration also, but I have yet to attend a Holud for a Christian or catholic couple.

Holud is a bangla word for turmeric and it's also the bangla word for color yellow. Traditionally, holud for the groom and for the bride is celebrated separately, but nowadays, people celebrate it together. It's similar to a bridal shower or to a stag party without the "hanky-panky" or "kinky games" or "naughty games". In Holud, the couple are usually dress in color yellow or orange traditional bengali clothes, and the family members’ clothes are also color coded, and the guests are expected to wear something yellow or orange too. The couple are seated on the stage where guests will have to scrub them with turmeric paste or spread the turmeric paste in any expose skin of the couple, and feed them with sweets afterwards. This practice is the “cleansing of the couple” before they enter the married life. If we look at it, it’s similar to the confession we do prior to the wedding celebration. We have to be clean before we face the Lord and the church community and accepts the Sacrament of matrimony.

Sometimes, they also prepare a program of dancing and singing.

Dance presentation during gaye holud of another cousin

In H's family, they don't practice this tradition, that's why we didn't have a Holud party, but if given a choice and chance, I want to experience the Bengali traditions also, but definitely, I will have a "Boubhat party".

My second time to wear a saree at my staff's holud party. (2008)

Tradition is a guide and not a jailer. - W. Somerset Maugham

Another thing that I will miss this winter season is the "mustard field" in bloom.

He don't bring me flowers anymore, but he made sure to give me a field of flowers.

Last winter, H and his family planned a trip to the village so that I can see and have a picture in the mustard field. This one was just a small patch of mustard field, but nevertheless, it was awesome. They say dark spirits lurk around the mustard field that's why they find it weird that I want to go and see and have a picture in the mustard field.