Holi, the festival of spring, is all about celebrating life in its myriad colours. Holi is celebrated on the last full moon of the year. In India, this is the last full moon of the year (as per the Lunar Calendar). So, before that last full moon, the tradition is to just say goodbye to the old things and welcome the new and celebrate with colours. It marks the beginning of spring after winter. The festival is also symbolic of the triumph of good over evil.
The festivities are all about playing with different colours and each colour signifies a meaning. Red, for example, symbolises love and fertility while green stands for new beginnings, yellow for happiness, pink with love, blue with vastness, white with peace and more.
The legend behind Holi
There are many accounts of Holi’s origin mentioned in several works of ancient Indian literature. One of the popular versions is that an evil king became so powerful that he forced his subjects to worship him as their God. But his son Prahlada was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu and this didn’t go well with the king. The angry king plotted with his sister, Holika, to kill his son. Holika, who was immune to fire, managed to play a trick with Prahlada and asked him to sit in a pyre with her. When the pyre was lit, Prahlada’s devotion to Lord Vishnu helped him walk away unscathed while Holika, from whom the festival derives its name, was burned to death despite her immunity. So, Holi is also about the triumph of good over evil.
On the eve of the festival, large pyres with wood are lit in many parts of India to signify the burning of evil spirits. People offer coconut, rice grain, fruits, dates into the bonfire as a mark of respect and celebrate the power of goodness.
A tale of diversity
Holi celebrations are all about celebrating diversity and it is free from any kind of discrimination or barriers. The festival is all about celebrating the richness of life. Holi this year is all set to bring back the vitality of the celebrations as the COVID-19 pandemic did not let people celebrate the festival in all its essence. As Devika Kumari, a young student based in Ahmedabad, says,“Holi is one of my favourite festivals. I am really looking forward to celebrating with my friends. We could not celebrate the festival during the pandemic, so this year I am going to make up for all the lost fun and revelry.”
For Abhishek Mishra, a finance professional, Holi means visiting his family in Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. “The festival is all about celebrating life. Apart from playing with colours, I just love all the Holi treats like gujiyas, boondi kheer and malpuas.”
Holi is famously celebrated in Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Mathura wears a colourful look on the auspicious occasion. In the morning, the celebrations begin at the Dwarkadhish Temple. And then the celebrations take off later with little children dressed as Krishna and Radha and everyone soaking in the play of colours and music.
Holi at Vrindavan is much talked about where the magic of colour gives celebrations almost a surreal touch. The priests at the Banke Bihari temple showers devotees with flowers for about half an hour and that is why it is called the Phoolonwali Holi.
Across the city, gulal (coloured powders) and bhajans (devotional songs) fill up the air. The widows in Pagal Baba’s Ashram now play with colours during Holi. The widows have broken the stereotypes and played Holi with flower petals and colours. This noteworthy initiative was taken by Sulabh International and started only in 2013.
Lathmar Holi is one of the most sought-after celebrations of Holi for its unique tradition. Barsana, an hour’s drive from Mathura, is said to be Radha’s hometown, and it is believed that she and the other gopis playfully fought off Krishna and his friends with lathis (sticks) when they visited from Nandgaon to play Holi. Today, as it is recreated, the men must protect themselves from the playful beatings of women with lathis or sticks. At the same time, colours rule the festivities here in all their magnificent hues.
In Odisha, Holi celebrations (also called Dola Purnima) are unique as Lord Krishna and Radha visit commoners’ homes in a palanquin or biman. The beautifully decorated bimans are a visual treat and the accompanying priests offer their prayers and bless the devotees at their homes with phagu (colours). As the Lord goes on a procession amid the sounds of drum beats, khanjani and conch shells, the air smells of festivity and joy. This is also the occasion when the Lord is offered raw mango and only after this, one can consume raw mango. The Dol Yatra concludes on the final day when on the Full Moon Day, the bimans all gather in a space called Melan padia when the idols are put on a swing.
Holi celebrations in Udaipur in Rajastthan have a regal touch as the erstwhile maharaja lighting the ceremonial bonfire, known as Mewar Holika Dahan, at the City Palace. This is followed by folk dances and a royal procession on elephants, horses and camels.
Holi festivities in Hampi take place around the ruins of the grand Vijayanagara Empire. The celebrations start with the Holika Dahan bonfire a night before, and the celebrations continue with colours, drumbeats and a sense of togetherness all day. It is believed that a dip in River Tungabhadra will not only wash away the colour but also your sins.
Holi in Manipur coincides with the indigenous Yaosang Festival. The five-day festivities include folk dances, performing musicians, bonfires, sporting events and playing with colour.
The spring festivities in Anandpur Sahib include Hola Mohalla, a tradition under the guidance of the tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, in which Nihang Sikhs display their valour and spirit of courage through martial arts.
Did you know about these No Holi celebrations?
Three remote villages in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district—Kweeli, Khurjan and Jaundla do not celebrate Holi. Villagers believe that the Goddess does not like noise and colours and if anyone tries to celebrate the festival, they suffer due to the curse of the Goddess. Since that time, the villagers from these three villages do not celebrate Holi.
Holi delicacies: A platter of happiness
In India, no festive celebrations are complete without delicious treats and sweets. It is customary to exchange sweets between friends and family during Holi. Some of the most popular Holi sweets include gujiya (sweet fried dumplings filled with dried fruits), barfi (a condensed milk and sugar cake), puran polis (sweet stuffed flatbread, and the stuffing is made of chana daal and jaggery) and malpua (a sweet pancake made from fruits).
Another treat that is traditionally consumed on Holi is thandai, which is a cold refreshing drink made from whole milk, almonds, rose water, fennel seed, saffron, cardamom, and peppercorn. Thandai is also laced with bhaang (marijuana).
Here’s to celebrating Holi, the festival of spring and revelling in life’s rich colours.
Deepika Sahu has been a journalist for 27 years and she has worked with some of India’s leading media houses. Right now, she is independently engaged in content creation and curation. Twitter: @menondeepika; Instagram: @moodydeepika; Facebook: Deepika Sahu
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