HOLI...Even the Rainbow bows to the spirit!

Holi is the festival of colours. It is the time of the year when people get drenched in a myriad of colours. From people playing with 'gulaal'(coloured powder),'pichkaris' n water baloons to the savouring of sweets like 'gujiyas' n 'malpuas', Holi has its own spirit n charm . No wonder Holi is a such a popular Indian festival! While the above is a constant for most hindus all over the world, the festival also comes with some unique regional ceremonies!

Nowhere it is celebrated with so much charm and enthusiasm as in Mathura, Vrindavan, Barsana and Nandgaon - the places associated with the birth and childhood of Lord Krishna.the festivities last a complete 40 days, concluding finally on the day of Holi! The best of classical and folk dancers come together from all over the country to depict the love story of Krishna and Radha. At Barsana Holi assumes the name of Lathmaar Holi. Here, women of Barsana give a tough time to men of Nandgaon as they come to play Holi with them. Women drag the unlucky captives, beat them, dress them in a female attire - yet all is in the spirit of Holi.

In Haryana, there is a tradition that the brother's wife beats her brother-in-law with her sari rolled up into a rope in a mock rage. All this is done in good humor and in the evening the brother in law brings sweetmeats for her. 

The most enjoyable tradition of Holi, of course, apart from the play of colours is the tradition of breaking the pot. It is celebrated with much fan fair in the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Here a pot of buttermilk is hung high on the streets. Men form a huge human pyramid and one on the top breaks the pot with his head. All this while women keep singing Holi folk songs and throwing buckets and buckets of water. The tradition has its roots in the mischievous nature of Lord Krishna who was so fond of butter milk that he used to steal it from every accessible house in the village. To hide the butter from young Krishna, womenfolk used to hang it high. All in vain!  Gujarat has strange ways of celebrating Holi. In Rajkot, soon after the Holika is burnt, people from across the town rush to the Aji dam to watch a strange custom where people shower abuses. It's called 'faag'. One of the villages in Junagadh has a novel way of celebrating Holi where black is preferred to any other colour.

For Sikhs, Holi calls for the display of their physical strength and military prowess as they gather at Anandpur Sahib a day after Holi to celebrate Hola Mohalla. The tradition was started by the tenth and last guru of Sikh religion, Guru Gobind Singh ji and is being religiously carried forward.

Holi is celebrated in the most dignified manner in the state of Bengal. At Vishwa Bharti University, founded by Rabindranath Tagore founded the tradition of celebrating Holi as 'Basant Utsav' or 'Spring Festival'. Students decorate the campus with intricate rangolis and carry out prabhat pheris in the morning. Clad in a traditional attire young boys and girls sing songs composed by Gurudev and present an enchanting view to the onlookers who gather in large number here. In Orissa, Holi is celebrated as Dol Yatra where the idols of Radha and Krishna are placed on a decorated palanquin and taken out in a procession. 

                                                             

When spring comes by, Jaipur gears up for a twin celebration, that of Holi and the Elephant Festival. Apart from the beautifully adorned elephants, the heart racing Elephant Polo matches and the grand processions of folk dancers and singers, the most unique aspect about celebrating Holi in Jaipur is enjoying smearing colour on your loved ones faces of elephant backs! The Jaipur Elephant Festival is a great opportunity to see elephant, the sturdy symbol of Rajput royalty.

Holi delicacies include gujiya, mathri, malpua, puranpoli, dahi badas, etc. After a frenzied play of colours people love to gorge them up. The thing noteworthy though is the fact that the spirit of Holi remains the same throughout. It is the festival which generates the spirit of brotherhood and bring people close - and this is what matters most than anything else.