Different Hues of a Unique Festival: Holi
- In History & Culture
- 05:02 AM, Mar 22, 2019
- Richa Yadav
Victory of good over evil is an overarching theme of most of the Hindu festivals. And the festival of color ‘Holi’ is not an exception. Holi celebrates spring and the harvest, on the night of the full moon in the Hindu month of Phalgun, which usually falls around the month of March. There are regional differences in the way it is celebrated in India, and it also has multiple Hindu legends associated with it to explain its origins.
The famous story of divine intervention to safeguard little devotee of Vishnu called Prahalad and victory over the evil king Hiranyakashyap is said to be the main reason why Hindus celebrate Holi. The festival also traces its traditional association with the divine love of Radha and Krishna as they smeared each other with colors; There is another parallel legend which profusely runs along the festive setting of Holi. Parvati wanted to marry Shiva, but he was in deep meditation. To help Parvati, on her request, Kamdev, the God of Love, decided to shoot an arrow of love at Lord Shiva, to make him desire Goddess Parvati. This enraged Shiva and he burned Kamdev to ashes by opening his third eye. Kamdev’s wife Rati was devastated and performed a special prayer for Shiva. Finally, Shiva relented and forgave Kamdev; the return of God of love also marked the celebration of Holi.
This cultural and historical setting has infiltered in the ethos of the and gradually became a part of their own celebration. Holi has touched manifold aspects of Indian culture, be it art, music, or food. It’s a festival celebrated with the entire society and with the underpinning emotion of devotion, love, and happiness.
On this day people actually play with colors soaking each other in dry and liquid colors. Several Hindustani classical songs mention ‘rori’, haldi, and ‘chandan’ (vermillion, turmeric, and dry sandalwood paste) being used for playing Holi. It was still a few decades back that North India had a tradition of preparing huge barrels of color by boiling water with deep orange seasonal flower ‘Tesu’ from ‘Palash’ tree. But Over the years, organically made colors like ‘abeer’ and ‘gulal’ have been given way to chemical-based colors.
Besides colors, the festivity brings delicacies like ‘gujhia’, the sweet dumplings with dry milk and dry fruit filling, a popular sweet of the season. Consuming Bhaang (a form of cannabis), India’s holy marijuana, marks an inevitable custom. Bhang preparations were sacred to Gods, particularly Shiva. The intoxicating ingredient is so ingrained in the spirit of Holi that a beverage laden with Bhaang called Thandai is considered as a mark of celebration. Thandai is prepared in a customary way, where green leaves of cannabis are ground, adding enriching items like almonds, cashews, melon seeds, dates, pistachios, poppy seeds, ground nuts, rose petals and various spices.
Holi is a festival of joy and it cannot be complete without music. It has both classical as well as semi-classical and folk connections. These compositions, known as ‘Hori’, a musical genre, are based on the depictions of playful mischiefs between Krishna and Radha, mentions of Ram and his brothers playing Holi, and grinding of cannabis by Shiva and his consort Parvati.
‘Gulal’, ‘gujhiya’, and ‘thandai’ do not exhaust the symbolic representation of festivity; there is much more to it! Holi is celebrated (‘played’ is the more appropriate term though) throughout the world in different ways. Yet, if one wishes to get the real flavor of the cultural ethos of the festival, one should visit ‘Latthmar Holi’ played in Mathura and Vrindavan area of Uttar Pradesh. ‘Latthmar Holi’, which means ‘hitting with the bamboo stick’. It refers to the festive tradition, where every year women from Barsana, (the home town of Krishna’s beloved Radha) beat men, who come all the way from Nandgaon, (the home town of Krishna), to play Holi with women of Barsana.
Legend has it that Krishna, in his boyhood, would visit Barsana during Holi with his close friends. He playfully smeared Radha’s face with color. Witnessing this sight, the other females of Barsana expressed their displeasure by forcefully driving away Krishna and his gang from the village. The same spirit prevails in ‘latthmar Holi’. The use of stick is not only to symbolize defense but also commemorates Krishna, as a herdsman. In order to make theses sticks moisture proof and to increase its overall strength, oil is rubbed along the entire surface. Similarly, shields, which are used by men to protect themselves from getting hurt by sticks, are handcrafted.
Apparently, the entire city is encompassed in the celebration which goes on in different parts of the suburb for more than 7 days. Playing Holi, while clad in white attire, is a very ‘Bollywoodian’ concept, but if you go to Mathura, you will see people dressed up in all types of vibrant colors. The quintessential Holi in Mathura and vicinity is loaded with colors, enlivens age-old traditions in its own mesmerizing way. When men from Nandgaon are invited to play Holi with natives of Barsana, they go together in processions, chanting Krishna and Radha’s name in unison, singing ‘phag’ or Holi songs, with all the fanfare, dancing on the beats of ‘dhol’ and ‘nagada’, totally immersed in the spirit of devotion. It is one of the most surreal experiences to witness.
In some temples in Vrindavan people play Holi with flowers and even laddus. In general, the widows living in these small towns avoid wearing colorful clothes and observe austerity. But, on the occasion of Holi, the widows of Vrindavan become a part of the riot of colors, experience the share of love and happiness with others. It is the spirit of the festival which reminds us that everyone deserves joy and happiness in life.
As a child, I associated the ambiance of Holi with stampede and chaos. The ruckus during the festival could be scary at times. Holi is a festival where liberties are taken. Yet, the way Holi helps to bring the society together is undeniable. The happiness and vibrancy quotient of the festival is breathtaking; it does rejuvenate the spirit of oneness, like no other festival.
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