New Delhi:
Holi parties in Delhi are usually an extravagant affair. But does the recession mean that this year, Holi will be less colourful?
Kunal is searching for a big Holi party, one with a cover charge that he can attend with his family. He decides on Tivoli Gardens, where a regular ticket costs Rs 1000 for a couple. Kunal, however, opts for the four thousand rupee VIP package.
",We go to a Holi party every year and I love it,", said Kabir.
",The kids want to have fun, so you have to fall in line. Nobody wants to dirty their house, so typically one is told to go out and finish it off and get back,", said Kunal.
So will Kunal get enough bang for his buck? For five hours, the Tivoli party promises great Bollywood music and live dholwallas, holi colours and food ranging from chaats to a sumptuous lunch.
They may not admit it, but organisers of these parties are doing away with the frills this year. For instance, Punjabi pop stars like Mika, Daler Mehendi won't be hired to perform live.
Needles to say, Holi is the festival of colours, but can you ever get by a Holi party without the essential Bollywood Holi numbers.
Holi last year was big business for DJ Aman, it's a quite affair this year.
",Last year we had a lot of parties. This year not so much. We have been hit, though not too much but we have been affected. People bargain a lot when they ask about my charges,", said DJ Aman.
But that doesn't mean Holi will be a damp squib.
",We have exclusive buffet, liquor, VIP shacks and DJ Sumit Sethi jamming with dhol wallas. In the whole area, we have rain dance, rose petal dance,", said Parvesh, Director, Twisted Addiction.
So party hard, but party sensibly on Holi.