HOLI - THE STORY BEHIND
Holi is a Hindu spring festival in India, also known as the
"festival of colours" or the "festival of love". The
festival signifies the victory of good over evil, the arrival of spring, end of
winter, and for many , a festive day to meet others, play and
laugh, forget and forgive, and repair broken relationships, and is also
celebrated as a thanksgiving for a good harvest. It lasts for two days starting on the Purnima
(Full Moon day) falling in the Bikram Sambat Hindu Calendar month of Falgun,
which falls somewhere between the end of February and the middle of March in
the Gregorian calendar. The first day is known as Holika Dahan (हॊलिका
दहन)
or Chhoti Holi and the second as Rangwali Holi, Dhuleti, Dhulandi or
Dhulivandan.
Holi celebrations start on the night before Holi
with a Holika bonfire where people gather, do religious rituals in front of the
bonfire, and pray that their internal evil should be destroyed as the bonfire
starts. The next morning is celebrated as Rangwali Holi, carnival of colours, where
participants play, chase and colour each other, with dry powder and coloured
water, children carrying water guns and coloured water-filled balloons for
their water fight. Anyone and everyone is fair game, friend or stranger, rich
or poor, man or woman, children and elders. The frolic and fight with colours
occurs in the open streets, open parks, outside temples and buildings. Groups
carry drums and other musical instruments, go from place to place, sing and
dance. People visit family, friends and foes to throw coloured powders on each
other, laugh and gossip, then share Holi delicacies, food and drinks. Some
customary drinks such as those that include bhang are intoxicating. In the
evening, after sobering up, people dress up and visit friends and family.
Vishnu
legend
There is a symbolic legend to explain why Holi
is celebrated as a festival of colours in the honor of Hindu god Vishnu and his
follower Prahlada. King Hiranyakashipu, according to a legend found in chapter
7 of Bhagavata Purana, was the king of demonic Asuras, and had earned a boon
that gave him five special powers: : he could be killed by neither a human
being nor an animal, neither indoors nor outdoors, neither at day nor at night,
neither by astra (projectile weapons) nor by any shastra (handheld weapons),
and neither on land nor in water or air. Hiranyakashipu grew arrogant, thought
he was God, and demanded that everyone worship only him.
Hiranyakashipu's own son, Prahlada, however,
disagreed. He staunchly remained devoted, only to Vishnu. This infuriated
Hiranyakashipu. He subjected Prahlada to cruel punishments, none of which affected
the boy’s bhakthi towards lord Vishnu. Finally, Holika, Prahlada's evil aunt,
tricked him into sitting on a pyre with her. Holika was wearing a cloak that
made her immune to injury from fire, while Prahlada was not. As the fire
roared, the cloak flew from Holika and encased Prahlada, who survived while
Holika burned. Vishnu, the god who appears as an avatar to restore Dharma in
Hindu beliefs, took the form of Narasimha - half human and half lion, at dusk
(when it was neither day nor night), took Hiranyakashyapu at a doorstep (which
was neither indoors nor outdoors), placed him on his lap (which was neither
land, water nor air), and then eviscerated and killed the king with his lion
claws (which were neither a handheld weapon nor a launched weapon).
The Holika bonfire and Holi signifies the
celebration of the symbolic victory of good over evil, of Prahlada over
Hiranyakashipu, and of the fire that burned Holika.
Krishna
legend
In the Braj region of India, where the Hindu
deity Krishna grew up, the festival is celebrated as Rangpanchmi in
commemoration of the divine love of Radha for Krishna. The festivities
officially usher in spring, with Holi celebrated as a festival of love. There
is a symbolic myth behind worshipping Krishna as well. As a baby, Krishna
developed his characteristic dark blue skin colour because the she-demon Putana
poisoned him with her breast milk. In his youth, Krishna despaired, whether the
fair-skinned Radha and other girls would like him because of his skin colour.
His mother, tired of the desperation, asks him to approach Radha and colour her
face in any colour he wanted. This he does, and Radha and Krishna became a
couple. Ever since, the playful colouring of Radha's face has been marked as
Holi.
There are many more stories and legends
associated with this colourful festival Holi -depending upon the various , region
and culture followed among people- of different states of our country. Whatever
it is , it is the festive day -- to end and rid oneself of past errors, to end
conflicts by meeting others -- a day to forget and forgive.
HOLI
& the ORGANIC COLOURS
The health aspect has been a topic of debate for
a long time, as the market is flooded with synthetic colours adulterated with
oxidised metals and industrial dyes mixed with anything from engine oil to
mercury sulphate to lead oxide or copper sulphate — all harmful chemicals that
can cause skin allergies and eye infections. So this Holi, let us save the environment
as well our health by using natural colours.
For example:
Yellow
Mix two teaspoons of Turmeric powder (haldi)
with double the quantity of gram flour (besan). Turmeric and gram flour have
magical qualities that are very good for the skin.
Green
Save a trip to the parlour by using green
coloured henna powder (mehendi) this Holi. Either use it separately or mix it
with an equal quantity of any suitable flour to get a lovely and natural green
shade.
Saffron
Soak a few stalks of Saffron (kesar) in 2 table
spoons of water. Leave for a few hours and grind them to make a fine paste.
Dilute that with water as per the desired colour strength.
Pink
Slice or grate one beetroot and soak it in 1
litre of water for a wonderful magenta. Boil or leave overnight for a deeper
shade and dilute it before use.
Red Sandal Wood Powder, which has a beautiful
red colour, is extremely beneficial for the skin and can be used in place of
Red Gulal. You can also try dry red hibiscus flowers in shade, powder and add
any flour to increase the bulk.
Use your own imagination for many more vibrant
natural organic colours !
And finally, is any Indian festival complete
without a colourful Rangoli at our door entrance?!
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