Monday, April 3, 2000
Holi- The Festival of Colours
Suruchi ThakurSuruchi Thakur is a freshman in college. |
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 While accompanying my father on different Air Force postings, I had the opportunity to experience Holi celebrations in different states. Here are a few things I learnt about the diversity in Holi celebrations through out various cultures in our country.
Holi is celebrated on the day after the full moon in early March every year. It is springtime in India, flowers and fields are in bloom and the country goes wild with people running on the streets and smearing each other with brightly hued powders and colored water.
History of Holi Festival
Originally Holi was a festival to celebrate good harvests and fertility of the land. There are many legends concerning the origin of this spring festival. The most popular among these legends is the one about Prince Prahlad, the god-fearing son of the evil King Hiranyakasipu. Prahlad did not give up worshipping the god Vishnu in spite of fearful persecution by his father and demon aunt Holika, deputed by her brother to kill young Prahlad. Holika not affected by fire, took Prahlad and entered a blazing furnace built for his destruction. But instead, by divine intervention, it was the wicked Holika who was burnt to ashes while Prahlad came out unscathed. Before she died, Holika realized her wrong and begged the Prahlad 's forgiveness. As his gesture of forgiveness, Prahlad deemed that her name would be remembered at least one day in the year. Holi commemorates this event from mythology, and huge bonfires are burnt on the eve of Holi as its symbolic representation.
This exuberant festival is also associated with the immortal love of 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 color on Radha's face and see how her complexion would change.
In the days of Emperor Raghu, there was a Rakshasi (demon) called Dhunda who would kidnap little children from the villages and kill them. Guru Vashishta advised Emperor Raghu to distribute wooden swords amongst children of the kingdom and instruct them to shout and make lots of noise whenever Dhunda tried to harm them. Dhunda could not kidnap anymore children and eventually left the empire. This happened on the same day as the Holika was burnt.
It is also believed that Lord Shiva (the Lord of auspicious-ness) destroyed Kaamdev (the Lord of love) on the day Holika was burnt. Once in his foolish pride, Kaamdev aimed his arrow at the mighty Lord Shiv who was in deep meditation. Sensing his presence Lord Shiv opened his third eye and burnt Kaamdev to ashes. Grief-stricken Rati, Kaamdev's wife, beseeched Lord Shiv to take pity on her and restore her husband to life. Shiv relented and granted her the boon that she could see her husband but he would remain "anang or without a physical form. Hence, the songs sung during Holi tell the tale of Rati and her lamentations.
Holi is also called Vasant Utsow or the festival of spring. The day after burning the Holika people put the ashes from the fire as Vibhuti on their forehead, often mixed with Chandan paste (Sandalwood paste). Around the same time of the year as Holi, Catholics also celebrate ash ceremony called, Ash Wednesday.
The Celebration:
 Over the ages, our society has undergone many changes yet the spirit of Holi remains the same amongst most Hindus. As Holi usually comes around the same time as high school and college finals, it is surprising to see that even examinations don’t seem to dampen the spirit of Holi in the youth. Each year, without fail, the young and the old alike gather into groups and indulge in a riot of colors and festivity. One could get away with almost anything on this day from squirting colored water on passers-by to dunking friends in the mud pool saying "bura na mano, Holi hai" (don't feel offended, it's Holi).
The colors or gulal used on holi traditionally are dry powder colors of red, pink, green and yellow with Abhrak mixed in it. Though the tradition is observed in smaller towns, in bigger cities, however, the crowd often goes berserk with permanent dyes, paints and even grease!
Holi brings brisk business to sweet vendors. People visit each other’s houses with boxes of mithai or sweets like burfi, gulab-jamun and gujiya. But the delicacy of the day is malpua, a dessert made of maida, milk, sugar and dry fruits.
Holi is also synonymous with bhang, better known as Marijuana in the west, which is consumed by many in the form of laddoos and ghols.
The festival is marked by vibrant and loud processions with the crowd dancing and singing to favorite bollywood Holi beats such as ‘rang barse, bheegay chunarwali rang barse’. This is one day when it’s common to see a lot of drunk men lying under trees and in parks!!
Holi in States
 Shah PravinChand Karamchand, a Sawf reader and contributor tells us
In Gujrat Holi is celebrated as lokotsav or folk festival. On the evening of Falguni Poornimaa Holi bonfire is burnt. Women and children dance and sing around the fire throwing coconuts and dhani in it. It is also said that the direction of the flames from the bonfire can forebode the onset of the monsoons and whether the crops yield would be rich the next season. The real Holi is played the next day celebrating the return of Prahlad alive from the furnace. In small villages children go from house to house asking for oil to pour in their mashals or burning torches and candy made from jaggery. In remote areas of Gujrat one can also observe the mysterious customs of tribal people walking on burning coal! In some tribal areas like Dang District, the celebrations are spread over up to five days. Another unusual custom observed in Visnagar and Surat is people throwing their shoes and fire crackers at each other!
Holi is celebrated with particular eclat in the villages around Mathura in Uttar Pardesh, Krishna’s birth place. This exuberant festival is associated with Krishna’s immortal love for Radha. Holi here is celebrated for 16 days in Vrindavan as well as Mathura - the two cities with which Lord Krishna shared a deep affiliation. Women pour buckets of colored water on the men. They also thrash men with whips made of cloth, which has been torn apart from men's clothing! The tradition forbids the men to touch the women or unveil their faces. From the rooftops basketfuls of colored powder are emptied on participants and onlookers, creating a thick haze of colors. The men-folk of Nandagaon and the women-folk of Barsana come together and play the game of ‘Huranga’ in which men tease the women and in retaliation women beat them with sticks.
In Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, Sikhs celebrate a special festival - Hola Mohalla on the day after Holi. The display of ancient martial arts and mock battles, are part of this unique Sikh festival, which was started by Guru Gobind Singh. Sikhs come to Anandpur Sahib from all around the country for this event. In other areas of Punjab, Holika effigy is burnt a day prior to Holi. People get together and sing and dance to the beats of the ‘Dholak’.
In some parts of Haryana, Holi is not particularly a day of celebrations for sons-in-law who have a hard time keeping away their women relatives trying to attack them with sticks. Their faces covered with dupattas the women charge at men with bamboo sticks as long as 2 ½ meters!
In Maharashtra, Holi is also known as ‘Shimga’. It’s an important celebration for the community of fishermen, who make merry, sing and dance on this day. Puran Poli is the special sweet of this festival and its significance is evident in popular jingle `Holi re Holi Purnachi Poli'.
In Orissa, people begin their Holi celebrations with the customary ‘Dol Jatra’, a ritual that starts seven days prior to the festival. Priests from the local Shiva and other deities temple visit the residents of devotees and perform puja for their well being. On the full moon day, people play with colors and exchange warm greetings like ‘Holi mubarak’.
In Tamil Nadu Holi is known by three different names - Kamavilas, Kaman Pandigai, Kamadahanam and Madan Utsow. People take oil bath instead of playing with colors.
In Bengal, Holi is marked by performances of Dolothsava in which the idol of Lord Vishnu is swayed in decorated swings and colored powder is offered to God.
One thing that amazed me the most was that despite the diversity in Holi celebrations in India the spirit of Holi remains consistent. This is one time when the whole nation spends the next few days looking very colored!
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