Holi was celebrated all over northern India

Holi celebrated all over in northern India

New Delhi: Holi, the festival of colours, was celebrated with great fervor and enthusiasm all over northern India on Wednesday, with revelers spraying colours at each other. People from all walks of life danced to drumbeats as they applied colours on each other and consumed traditional 'thandai', a cold beverage.

In the Capital, Congress president Sonia Gandhi played Holi with differently abled children. Scores of children from the Masoom Special School visited 10, Janpath, the official residence of Sonia Gandhi, to celebrate the festival. She applied colours on them and gifted packets of sweets to the children. In Mathura, in a re-enactment of the fable of Holi festival, priests walked through fireballs.

Holi revellers in Rajasthan's Bikaner are enjoying the famous Dab Dhamaal Holi, a unique manner of celebrating the festival of colours to the beats of the 'Dab'. The festivities here commence with the men-folk dressed as women and performing to the traditional Rajasthani folk songs. Artistes play various musical instruments and sing folk songs to mark the onset of the festival. "We start celebrating Holi from Basant Panchami (fifth day of spring season as per Hindu almanac) and we sing traditional songs with the medium of 'dab'. Through these songs, we tell people about the tradition and culture of Bikaner," said Satnarayan Parjapati, a local.

In Mumbai, members of Koli (fishermen) community celebrated the festival a day before the actual day of Holi as per the Hindu calendar. Several generations of the fishermen community of Worli in Mumbai have been celebrating the festival. Traditionally, a tree is decorated with garland, flowers, fruits and food and is then worshipped by the Koli women. Later, wood is lit to conclude the celebrations. "We burn the Holi in the midnight. Women folk bring clay pot and put it in the Holi. It's an age old tradition," said Mandkar Wadkar, a local resident. Even foreign tourists joined the local revellers in the celebrations of Holi. "I think it's fantastic. It's a brand new experience. I have never seen anything like this before. I think it's brilliant," exclaimed Michael, a tourist from South Africa. Although Holi is celebrated with colours across India, people in Allahabad celebrate the festival in their unique manner. People take out a hammer procession in which the hammer is adorned as a groom along with a fan as the bride. All the traditional rituals of Hindu marriage are performed to wed this hammer and the fan. This procession begins with the breaking of a pumpkin that is filled with colours, which is then splashed over the revellers. Holi, a festival that holds a mythological importance, that of the triumph of good over evil.

In Kolkata, former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly participated in a children's Holi programme on Tuesday, which was organised at his wife Dona's dance academy. Dona, who is an Odissi dancer, runs 'Diksha Manjuri' in Kolkata. Sourav and his daughter Sana made their presence felt, revelling with young dancers and splashing colours. "I came here to see the children dance. I don't understand dance but children enjoy and that's enough for me," admitted the former cricketer. The highlight of the evening was of course Sana 's tiny dancing steps. As for the Holi festival, the stylish left-hander

admitted that he was afraid of Holi colours. "My daughter Sana will play Holi but I don't want to play. It's very tough to clean the colours off the body," Ganguly said. Dona, however, said that she couldn't play Holi with her husband all these years, since he was preoccupied playing at home and abroad. "Earlier we did not play Holi because he was busy playing cricket for India ," Dona Ganguly said. She also presented a 'Raas Leela' performance on the occasion.

In Mathura, priests at Prahlad Kund in Phalen village in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura district celebrated Holi by walking through a fireball. "We have been seeing this fair from a long time. Our ancestors said this fair has been held here for thousands of years. Priests cross the fire like Lord Vishnu's devotee Prahlad. The priests worship constantly for five days and bathe in the Ganges ," claimed Radhey Singh, a local. In Delhi, people from all walks of life sprayed each other with colours. They also danced to drumbeats and consumed traditional 'thandai'. ' Walker's club' of Lodhi Garden celebrated Holi with great enthusiasm. People of all faiths participated in it," said Jaswant Singh Arora, a local. Foreigners also danced on the occasion and greeted people. "I would like to wish you a very happy Holi. It's fantastic and crazy, which is great," said Prince, a foreigner. Holi is associated with an uninhibited expression of love and affection. The festival brings people of all classes and age groups together. They distribute sweets and take out procession.
- Mar 11, 2009