Toy hat. The crown of orange paper foil with a twisted finial is attached to a circular cardboard rim with blue adhesive tape. A red plastic mouthpiece in the shape of a truncated cone, closed at the wide end, contains a single beating reed, producing a squeaking sound when blown. A black plastic tube passes through the mouthpiece, serving both as a chin-strap and a duct for air to two blow-out tubes of pink and blue paper foil, stapled to each side of the rim, resembling horns when inflated. Made at the vendor's home in Anandpur Sahib for the Hola Mohalla festival in Mach 2006.
Hola Mohalla, a Sikh festival, was first celebrated by the Guru Gobind Singh in 1701 in Anandpur Sahib, Punjab. Participants hold mock battles and displays of martial arts and process through the streets between gurdwaras (Sikh temples) accompanied by kettle-drums and standard-bearers mounted on horseback. At each temple readings from the Guru Granth Sahib, Sikh holy scripture, and devotional singing take place. Stalls are set up along the processional road, selling various goods for the festival, including musical toys for children.
