Holi, the festival of colours is celebrated by the use of various dry and wet colours by people of almost all age groups.
People Celebrating Holi in Barsana
Holi, also known as the festival of colours, heralds the beginning of spring and is celebrated across India in a celebration of triumph of good over evil.
The festival depicts the composite essence of celebration of life. In this fervor of colour, people chase each other and splash colourful paints on each other. Holi is seen as the only festival in India where people thoroughly get drenched in colours forgetting the societal bifurcation.
Regional folksongs and dance add to the exuberance of colour. The festival is celebrated with much gusto across India, especially in northern cities of Mathura and Vrindavan, the birthplace of Hindu Lord Krishna, and devotees throng temples in the cities drenched in coloured water.
On this full moon day on the Hindu month of Phagun the residents are transported to the time when Lord Vishnu saved the life of his devotee Prahlad.
In Mathura, thousands of devotees and pilgrims are thronging the streets to witness the Holi celebration peculiar to the land of Shri Krishna, a Hindu god.
In Barsana, thousands of people including pilgrims and art and culture lovers participated in the famous lathmaar Holi. A colourful event in Holi time Mathura sees young women attack the men with sticks and the men protect themselves with leather shields.
In Odisha, today is the day of Dol Purnima. Although Holi is celebrated in Odisha tomorrow, today the gods celebrated the Holy – the festivals of colour.
In Puri, the pious city of lord Jagannath, it is not just the people who celebrate the festival, but Lord Jagannath also comes out of the temple to play Holi with his devotees and disciples.
As the spirit of Holi takes over India, foreign tourists visiting the country joined in the celebrations. As the tourists reveled in the festival of colours, they promised to come back next year.