Holi - Festival of Colors

Holi, also called the Festival of Colors, is a popular Hindu spring festival observed in India.

Holi was originally a spring festival of fertility and harvest. Now it also marks some Hindu legends, which provide some of the ingredients for the celebrations.

It was also on this day that an ogress called Dhundhi, who was troubling the children in the kingdom of Prthu was chased away by the shouts and pranks of village youngsters. Although this female monster had secured several boons that made her almost invincible, shouts, abuses and pranks of boys was a chink in the armor for Dhundi, owing to a curse from Lord Shiva.

It is often believed that it was on this day that Lord Shiva opened his third eye and incinerated Kamadeva, the god of love, to death. So, many people worship Kamadeva on Holi-day, with the simple offering of a mixture of mango blossoms and sandalwood paste.

This exuberant festival is also associated with the immortal love of Krishna and Radha.Holi is also celebrated in memory of the immortal love of Lord Krishna and Radha. The young Krishna would complain to his mother Yashoda about why Radha was so fair and he so dark. Yashoda advised him to apply colour on Radha's face and see how her complexion would change. One prank was to throw colored powder all over them. So at Holi, images of Krishna and his consort Radha are often carried through the streets. Holi is celebrated with eclat in the villages around Mathura, the birth-place of Krishna.

Earliest textual references regarding celebration of Holi have been found the 7th century Sanskrit drama, Ratnavali. Holi has certainly perennial rituals attached to it, the first is smearing of coloured powder on each other, and throwing water, coloured and scented using pichkaris, shaped like giant syringes or squirt guns. Though the festival really beings many days in advance, with 'Holi Milan' or Baithaks, musical soirees, where song related to the festival, and the epic love story of Radha Krishna are sung; specially type of folk songs, known as “Hori” are sung.

The main emphasis of the festival is on the burning of the holy fire or Holika. The origin of the traditional lighting of Holi is attributed to the burning of demonesses like Holika, Holaka and Putana who represent evil,or to the burning of Madan. Traditionally a bonfire on the day of Holi, marks the symbolic anhilation of a demoness Holika the sister of demon, Hiranyakashipu, in Hindu mythology, while trying to kill, a devotee, Bhakta Prahlad.

Apart from the reference in the religious and historical texts, Holi also finds a reference in the sculptures on walls of old temples. A 16th century temple at Hampi, the capital of Vijayanagar (now in Karnataka) has a panel sculpted with the joyous scene of Holi celebrations.

Another painting on the theme related to Holi, the Vasanta Ragini - spring song or music is found in Ahmednagar in Maharashta.

There are several other illustrations and paintings belonging to medieval India that can be found in the temples and palaces of that era. An interesting painting of Mewar (circa 1755) illustrates the Maharana with his courtiers bestowing gifts and riches on his people while a merry dance is going on. Also, there is water tank filled with colored water in the center of his courtyard.

The spring season, during which the weather changes, is believed to cause viral fever and cold. Thus, the playful throwing of natural coloured powders has a medicinal significance: the colours are traditionally made of Neem, Kumkum, Haldi, Bilva, and other medicinal herbs prescribed by Ayurvedic doctors.

A special drink called thandai is prepared, sometimes containing bhang (Cannabis sativa). For wet colours, traditional flowers of Palash are boiled and soaked in water over night to produced yellow coloured water, which also had medicinal properties.

The day of the full moon (Holi Purnima) is the first day of Holi. A platter ('thali') is arranged with colored powders, and colored water is placed in a small brass pot ('lota'). The eldest male member of the family begins the festivities by sprinkling colors on each member of the family, and the youngsters follow.

On the second day of the festival called 'Puno', images of Holika are burnt in keeping with the legend of Prahlad and his devotion to lord Vishnu. In rural India, the evening is celebrated by lighting huge bonfires as part of the community celebration when people gather near the fire to fill the air with folk songs and dances. Mothers often carry their babies five times in a clockwise direction around the fire, so that her children are blessed by Agni, the god of fire.

The most boisterous and the final day of the festival is called 'Parva', when children, youth, men and women visit each other's homes and colored powders called 'aabir' and 'gulal' are thrown into the air and smeared on each other's faces and bodies. 'Pichkaris' and water balloons are filled with colors and spurted onto people - while young people pay their respects to elders by sprinkling some colors on their feet, some powder is also smeared on the faces of the deities, especially Krishna and Radha.

In preparation for the festival, new clothes are bought for the family: it is a tradition for mothers to buy new clothes for their married daughters.

One thing that is very attractive about this festival is the spirit of the people who celebrate the occasion.Whether they are young or old, all the people are lost in the joyful occasion, having fun throwing colors at each other.

In West Bengal it is known as Dolyatra (Doul Jatra) or Basanta-Utsab ("Spring festival").

In Punjab Sikhs celebrate a similar festival known as Hola Mohalla.

It is known as Phagwa in the local Bhojpuri dialect.

The people of Orissa celebrate Holi in a similar manner but here the idols of Jagannath, the deity of the Jagannath Temple of Puri, replace the idols of Krishna and Radha.

The festival is known as Rangapanchami it is celebrated with dancing and singing.

Manipuris in northeastern part of India celebrate Holi for six days. Traditionally, youths at night perform a group folk dance called 'thaabal chongba' on the full moon night.Boys have to pay money to the girls for playing 'gulal' with them.