India celebrates Holi, its festival of colours

     New Delhi: Indians woke up to a colourful morning on Saturday and spent most of the day celebrating life and the onset of the spring season by smearing a variety of colours on each other on the occasion of the Hindu festival of Holi. People were seen sprinkling 'gulal' or powdered colour on each other while many ran for cover to save themselves from the bucketful of coloured water being thrown at them. The national capital was painted in a vibrant rainbow as people of all age groups indulged in the bonhomie of the festival. Donning the traditional white garb, youngsters and elders alike were seen indulging in the spirit of the festival. An ecstatic lot of youngsters stealthily made unsuspecting passers-by victims of a rain of water balloons. Foreign tourists were delighted to be part of the unique festival. "The colour is very good. First time I am experiencing....I have been India twice but first time I am experiencing Holi festival. I wish we have it in England, it will be good," said Michael, a tourist from England.

      Meanwhile, at the pilgrimage town of Dakor in Gujarat, festive fervour reached its peak as devotees since the crack of dawn made a beeline for the Ranchhodrai temple. Each year on Holi, scores of local devotees as well as those from neighbouring Maharashtra and Rajasthan states flock to this temple dedicated to Hindu God, Krishna. The state government has made provision to run special buses and trains to ferry the pilgrims to the holy place. "Untill now around 300,000 visitors have come in to worship at the temple. We are keeping a vigil throughout the day and we expect more number of people in the day, " said Shashikant Trivedi, Superintendent of Police, Kheda district.

      In Rajasthan, Holi is not only about gulal or water colours but also about special dress code. Traditionally, clothes of white with red bandhej called "phagania" are worn during the entire week of holi, the season of phagun. Folk performers sing folk songs called dhamal on the tune of chang drums to mark the harvest season which coincides with holi. "The Holi dress is usually white with red bandhini or tye and dye work done on the corners. The small squares of the tye and dye probably reflect the ripe wheat that is now standing in the fields," said Hanwant Singh, antique collector. The royal traditions of Jaipur still makes it compulsory to wear the traditional phagania colours on while celebrating holi. "Phagania is basically supposed to be like I am wearing a white and a red. The white is significant in the sense that in the olden days they played holi in these colours so that white would take on all colours and the red is because it is auspicious the married women had to have red in the white," said Maharani Padmini Devi, Former Royal, Jaipur.

      In Assam, the festival is called Dol Utsav which is a mix of festivities and religious rites.

      "The main purpose behind Dol Utsav is the meeting of Atma and Paramatma, Sri Krishna is Paramatma and the Gopis are the atmas. And this Holi festival is for all communities and religions to come together and play," said the head priest of a temple. Thousands of people take to the roads to sing and dance all night, in the most exciting festival of spring.

     In Mathura, considered to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna, Holi is a reminder of the escapades of flirtatious Krishna with his consort Radha and her companions. The exuberant festival is also associated with the immortal love of Krishna and Radha, and hence, Holi is spread over 16 days in Vrindavan as well as Mathura - the two cities with which Lord Krishna shared a deep affiliation. Apart from the usual fun with coloured powder and water, Holi is marked by vibrant processions which are accompanied by folk songs, dances and a general sense of abandoned vitality.

     Holi also marks the demise of demon Holika. Legend has it that when demon king Hiranyakashapu, failed to prevent his don Prahlad from worshipping Lord Vishnu, he decides to get the boy killed. In one such attempt the king's sister Holika blessed to be immortal sat on a burning pyre with the boy. While the boy escaped unscathed due to his faith in God, Holika was consumed by the flames. So as per tradition, a huge bonfire is lit on the eve of Holi, symbolising the warding off all inauspiciousness, and conquering hostile human feelings that one may harbour against the other. Celebrated in the month of Phagun (February-March) according to the Hindu calendar, Holi is associated with the uninhibited expression of love and affection.

      The festival falls almost a fortnight after Shivratri, on the full moon day of the same month. It is observed as a celebration of fertility, love and joy, which can be culturally construed to be a virtual New Year, in the spirit of spring and in the colours and contours of godly gospels and devotions.

       Today, Holi is an excuse for Indians to shed inhibitions and caste differences for a day of spring fever and Big Fun. Teenagers spend the day flirting and misbehaving in the streets, adults extend the hand of peace, and everyone chases everyone else around, throwing brightly colored powder (gulal) and water over each other.

      Each area celebrates Holi differently; the Bhil tribesmen of western Madhya Pradesh, who've retained many of their pre-Hindu customs, celebrate Holi in a unique way. In rural Maharashtra State, where the festival is known as Rangapanchami it is celebrated with dancing and singing. In the towns of Rajasthan - especially Jaisalmer - the music's great, and clouds of pink, green, and turquoise powder fill the air. The festival brings together people from all classes and age groups who put colours on each other, distribute sweets and take out processions, dancing to drums in a milange of colours.

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