If colours could speak, it would be a welcome cacophony with practically everyone ready to let their hair down. It was one such moment at Raj Bhavan here, where Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana E.S.L. Narasimhan and his wife Vimala were at their friendliest best.
For the record, when the microphones were thrust at him, he said in chaste Telugu that ‘Holi’ marked a day when the old problems and losses would go and usher in ‘new happiness’. Asked about continuing problems of adjustment between people of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, he quipped, “Don’t we all go through problems in our family in everyday life? It’s common. They will go.”
Prominent among those who celebrated Holi with Mr. Narasimhan were Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Union Minister B. Dattatreya, BJP MLA K. Laxman, Telugu Desam MLA Errabelli Dayakar Rao and others. Chief Secretaries I.Y.R. Krishna Rao (AP) and Rajiv Sharma (Telangana), senior police officers A.K. Khan and A.K. Mohanty and others were present too.
For almost about two hours, the calm, imposing confines of the Raj Bhavan was full of laughter and music with an orchestra belting out its best, in the form of popular numbers. A female and two male singers kept the visitors virtually on their toes, with some even shaking a leg or two, to numbers including Ramayya Vastaavayya… and several other popular songs.
The First Citizen and his wife would not stop moving among the visitors and every minute they grabbed fistfuls of organic colours from Raj Bhavan attendants and rubbed it onto everyone. It was sheer joy sans interruption for all as Holi is considered that festival when everyone appears at their colourful best.
Towards the end, when asked about her message for Women’s Day that falls on Saturday, March. 7, Ms. Vimala Narasimhan simply said, “Give respect, take respect. That should be the way women should be treated.”