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Yadavs in Saifai for Mulayam-themed Holi Milan
This is also the first Holi after a gap of seven years when the Yadav family has united politically once again.
The Yadav family members reached their ancestral village of Saifai on Tuesday to hold the family’s traditional Holi Milan—sans festivities this time.
The otherwise brilliance of colour and festivities at the annual event, introduced by the SP founder and party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, will not have any music, playing of colours and singing of Phag because of Mulayam’s demise last October.
Mulayam had founded the culture of the fabled and famous Saifai village Holi soon after he won his first election—the Jaswant Nagar assembly seat—way back in 1967.
This is also the first Holi after a gap of seven years when the Yadav family has united politically once again.
The entire Yadav clan--Akhilesh Yadav, Ram Gopal Yadav, Dharmendra Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav, and many more with their families reached Saifai for the Holi Milan with the people of the village, district, and the districts nearby at Mulayam Singh Yadav Kothi (bungalow) in the village. But there will not be any blaring music, Phag singing, and showering of varied coloured petals or Gulal, said a Saifai resident close to the family.
In fact, on Tuesday, some members including the SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and the general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav held a get-together with several party workers, supporters, and villagers. Shivpal Yadav, who was in Etawah, but returned to Lucknow to attend a wedding, will join the family on Wednesday morning.
Decades ago, Mulayam introduced the family culture of celebrating the festival of Holi with Gulal and flower petals. Since then as more and more family members joined politics and became the biggest political family in the country, the culture continued.
The most important aspect of the culture is wherever the family members of Mulayam were, they always reached Saifai a day before and celebrated the festival amid the people in Saifai. The tradition is so deeply rooted in the family, that even during the protracted political feud between Mulayam’s son Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam’s brother Shivpal Yadav, the family still gathered. Akhilesh and Shivpal showed up on one stage.
Within months of Mulayam’s demise in October last, Shivpal and Akhilesh reunited in December ahead of the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypolls—in a united bid to ‘save’ Mulayam’s constituency with the family. Family member Dimple Yadav won the seat; and Shivpal--the Jaswant Nagar MLA of SP—merged his Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (which he had formed after splitting up with Akhilesh) with the Samajwadi Party.
“Akhilesh, Shivpal, Ram Gopal, and others and extended family will all gather this time at Mulayam’s Kothi instead of their usual Holi venue —the Saifai Mahotsav Pandaal. The family members will first pay respects to Mulayam at his Samadhi and will then join for Holi Milan with the people who will gather there,” said the Saifai resident.
Though there won’t be any colour and singing, there is a lot of anticipation and eagerness for the Yadav family’s Holi Milan in the village in Etawah. Mulayam used to participate spiritedly in phag singing.
The tradition continued irrespective of whether the family was in power in the state or not.
