Holi-The
Festival of Gaiety & Colours
Holi is among the most popular festivals in
India. This gregarious event is celebrated with a lot of fervour and
gaiety in the month of Phalgun. Holi is a vibrant
festival of colours.
Holi is also referred to as the Spring
Festival as it marks the onset of spring which is also the season of hope and
ecstasy. Nature rejoices during the onset of Holi and wears its best attire. The
fields are filled with crops which promise a good harvest to the farmers and
flowers blossom and lend a vibrant hue to the surroundings even as their
inimitable fragrance pervades the atmosphere.
A quintessentially Hindu festival, Holi has
different legends linked with it. The foremost is the fable of the demon King
Hiranyakashyap who sought allegiance from everybody in his kingdom. However his
devout son Prahlad became a disciple of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashyap wanted his
son to be executed and asked his sister Holika to go into a blistering fire
with Prahlad in her lap as Holika was immune to fire due to a boon. Eventually Prahlad
was saved by the lord owing to his extreme devotion and Holika was killed as
her boon worked only when she went into the fire alone. Ever since, people
light a bonfire during Holi called Holika and commemorate the triumph of good
over evil.
The impish and playful Lord Krishna initiated
the trend of playing colours and applied colour liberally on his beloved, Radha.
This trend continues and people smear colour on their beloved along with friends
and family members during this festive occasion. In fact Vrindavan, Mathura and Barsana
are popular places to visit during Holi if you wish to capture the verve of
this vivacious festival.
Lots of people drink intoxicating bhang on
this special day to celebrate Holi. Bhang transforms sober individuals to
outgoing and gregarious ones and their bizarre antics are a reason for extreme
merriment among the restrained individuals.
After an exciting day people meet friends
and loved ones in the evening and exchange festive greetings along with sweets.
Holi is a festival of gaiety & colours.
It encourages different individuals to come together and smear colour on one
another regardless of caste. You must take part in this vibrant, colourful
& extremely joyous festival to fully comprehend its significance. Enjoy
this day with family or friends and if someone smears colour on you ….forgive
him/her. As the saying goes….burra Na mano, holi hain!! (Don’t mind its Holi
after all)
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