India's festival of colors, Holi fascinates me like no other festival and adds a new color to my life every year. Tradition has passed two stories as the premise for the festival and like many other stories on religion and mythology, they have carefully transcended several generations.
One demonstrates the truth of victory, wherein Prahlad was the only virtuous and truthful soul in a family of sin doers and 'Holika' was his aunt. Typically on the Holi eve, a stack of throwaway items like waste paper, straw, wood pieces and other inflammable substances is done up as 'Holika' and is burnt. This symbolizes the end of the evil and the following day the triumph is celebrated with a vibrant splash of colors.
The second story is of the beautiful romance of Lord Krishna (one of the most popular Hindu Gods) and his lady Radha. The couple played Holi in their hometown Vrindavan (now in Uttar Pradesh) while dispersing love and joy in the air, for all the town dwellers to cherish.
Irrespective of which story the community follows, Holi is one of the most unifying festivals across India, next only to Diwali. Since the mode of celebration does not involve any detailed worship (though some families might follow a ritual or so), the interplay of colors laces into everyone's lives very easily irrespective of gender, caste, language et al.
Typically, there are 2 modes in which the overwhelmingly beautiful festival shapes up. People either apply dry colors, namely 'gulaal' (available in powder form) and greet each other by applying each other on the face, forehead etc. In some states, children put 'gulaal/abeer' on the feet of elders and seek blessings. Or, they could bathe each other in a fountain of colors which is conjured in a sporty mix of color pigments in large volumes of water. The latter in particular, absolutely consumes me.
Like it may sound, some people are not so comfortable with the idea of getting wet for the sake of Holi, but the energy that this bout of colour adds to an individual even after the first shower is only seen to be believed. Anyone and everyone who has once played Holi in good company will pine for the day to come next year.
To cure new age diseases, people resort to laughter therapy, hydro therapy, yoga, art of living and so many other ways of generating positive energy. I am sure, color has a role to play in keeping us buoyant in our day to day lives. A bright color quite naturally denotes joy, success, congratulations, celebrations... Dull colors too leave an impact, even though the story might be left untold. In this context, I strongly feel Holi alone has a very strong positive undercurrent. Even if one doesn't play himself/herself, he/she is bound to soak in the color bath that springs up like a fountain. Just watching a fully colored individual brings a smile to your face. It is entycing beyond means...
Though this year, I experienced some eco friendly colors, some made by Pidilite Industries, which were safe on the skin, most other colors are known to leave the color on the skin till a couple of days after the festival. Humour reigns supreme when you see someone with pink ears in an office, or with green nails writing an exam, or blushing with red color on cheeks without having fallen in love.
I personally have successfully brought to the color flow one individual who has never played before, every year that I played Holi. Though that comes with lot of initial resentment, but no such individual has ever regretted the decision. Moreover, all of those people have become regulars in playing Holi ever since.
This festival evokes strange emotions - the brilliant spectrum of colors not only makes me fly high but fly with the wind. It unites, excites and most importantly establishes an unique camaraderie in the group of people playing together.
All those who havn't tried it yet, please do not waste any more time - play next year without fear!
One demonstrates the truth of victory, wherein Prahlad was the only virtuous and truthful soul in a family of sin doers and 'Holika' was his aunt. Typically on the Holi eve, a stack of throwaway items like waste paper, straw, wood pieces and other inflammable substances is done up as 'Holika' and is burnt. This symbolizes the end of the evil and the following day the triumph is celebrated with a vibrant splash of colors.
The second story is of the beautiful romance of Lord Krishna (one of the most popular Hindu Gods) and his lady Radha. The couple played Holi in their hometown Vrindavan (now in Uttar Pradesh) while dispersing love and joy in the air, for all the town dwellers to cherish.
Irrespective of which story the community follows, Holi is one of the most unifying festivals across India, next only to Diwali. Since the mode of celebration does not involve any detailed worship (though some families might follow a ritual or so), the interplay of colors laces into everyone's lives very easily irrespective of gender, caste, language et al.
Typically, there are 2 modes in which the overwhelmingly beautiful festival shapes up. People either apply dry colors, namely 'gulaal' (available in powder form) and greet each other by applying each other on the face, forehead etc. In some states, children put 'gulaal/abeer' on the feet of elders and seek blessings. Or, they could bathe each other in a fountain of colors which is conjured in a sporty mix of color pigments in large volumes of water. The latter in particular, absolutely consumes me.
Like it may sound, some people are not so comfortable with the idea of getting wet for the sake of Holi, but the energy that this bout of colour adds to an individual even after the first shower is only seen to be believed. Anyone and everyone who has once played Holi in good company will pine for the day to come next year.
To cure new age diseases, people resort to laughter therapy, hydro therapy, yoga, art of living and so many other ways of generating positive energy. I am sure, color has a role to play in keeping us buoyant in our day to day lives. A bright color quite naturally denotes joy, success, congratulations, celebrations... Dull colors too leave an impact, even though the story might be left untold. In this context, I strongly feel Holi alone has a very strong positive undercurrent. Even if one doesn't play himself/herself, he/she is bound to soak in the color bath that springs up like a fountain. Just watching a fully colored individual brings a smile to your face. It is entycing beyond means...
Though this year, I experienced some eco friendly colors, some made by Pidilite Industries, which were safe on the skin, most other colors are known to leave the color on the skin till a couple of days after the festival. Humour reigns supreme when you see someone with pink ears in an office, or with green nails writing an exam, or blushing with red color on cheeks without having fallen in love.
I personally have successfully brought to the color flow one individual who has never played before, every year that I played Holi. Though that comes with lot of initial resentment, but no such individual has ever regretted the decision. Moreover, all of those people have become regulars in playing Holi ever since.
This festival evokes strange emotions - the brilliant spectrum of colors not only makes me fly high but fly with the wind. It unites, excites and most importantly establishes an unique camaraderie in the group of people playing together.
All those who havn't tried it yet, please do not waste any more time - play next year without fear!
1 comment:
I havent played Holi for quite some time, but indeed this festival is so full of fun and vibrance, the best time I had in Holi was definitely in college..Rhitu this one really refreshes the memory
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