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Articles: Festivals | Holi
- Mr. mohan Konneti
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The festival of Holi symbolizes the victory of good over evil. It also marks the advent of spring and people celebrate it joyously with a splash of color. It heralds the end of winter and the beginning of spring. The night before the full moon, crowds of people gather together and light huge bonfires to burn the residual dried leaves and twigs of winter. People throw colored water with Pichkaari (a traditional device to spray colored water from a distance keeping oneself safe), Gubbare (balloons filled with water to throw on others from a distance) and Gulal (colored powder) at each other and make merry. Singing and dancing adds to the gaiety of the occasion.
Holi - the word was originally Hori or Happiness in Brajbhasha, a dialect of Hindi language. In fact, in Braj, people still call Holi, Hori. Celebrated in March or April according to the Hindu calendar, Holi was meant to welcome the Spring and win the blessings of Gods for good harvests and fertility of the land. Holi is also a festival of romance often represented by the love-play of Radha and Krishna. Braj Holi is famous all over the world for its gaiety in spirit.
Holi is all about having fun, playing with color and having a good time, all with the permission of the Gods! There are many stories of the origin of Holi. The most widely held belief is that Holi marks the day when the devotee of Lord Vishnu, Bhakt Prahlad, seated on the lap of demoness Holika, was saved from the effect of the fire by God and the demoness got burnt instead. Other stories relate to the death of demon Putana at the hands of Lord Krishna and to the burning of demoness Hoda by children. Some link the festival with the worship of Kamadeva, God of love and passion.
The mood & backdrop:
Holi, the great Indian festival of colors, is a unique celebration of high spirits, when the new season is courted with a riot of rich colors. It is like a grand kaleidoscope that glorifies all the hues that tinge and renew our lives on earth.
It falls on a full moon day in March, the month when the nippy north wind bows out to the refreshing and rejuvenating breeze from the south, heralding the onset of the ensuing summer in this part of the world. It is thus a festival of spring. This is the time when the seasonal cycle is caught on a transition. This is when nature starts donning new color. The new foliages start sprouting on the branches, dried and weary over a winter. It is also the time when the harvests are reaped and bundled in sheaves. The air is filled with promises of warmth and new lives as the earth discards the wintry glum to greet the bright sun of summer. Beset with this exhilarating backdrop, Holi comes, flinging colors and verve into the landscape of India, as if to mark the renewal and rebirth of life. Holi is thus a celebration of life, the life of love, unblemished joy, and good spirits.
The spirit & significance of colors:
During this festival one celebrates the mood of nature with a range of colors. The spirit of celebration is to showcase the shifting panorama of life, and the movement of feelings.
The human hearts also feel the urge to be recharged with new colors to catch on the mood outside. And Holi gives us a wonderful chance to do this. For, it reminds us that the time is perfect to be colored, to renew love and recharge our vitality. All in sync with nature. And the color symbolizes the energy, the vivid, passionate pulse of life signifying vitality.
HOLI – Legends and History
Holi is one of the oldest Hindu festivals. It’s reference can be found in religious scriptures and sculptures on the walls of old temples. There are paintings, which show a royal couple sitting on a grand swing and maidens playing music and spraying colors on them. Whatever the scene and the theme, colors and mythology have always been an important part of these Holi depictions. However the most important myths and stories that have been associated with Holi are given below:
Story of Radha Krishna
Lord Krishna was dark while his spiritual love-mate Radha was fair-complexioned. So child Krishna often used to complain about the injustice of nature towards him to his mother Yashoda and would ask her the reason. One day, Yashoda suggested that Krishna apply color on Radha's face and change her complexion to any color that he desired. The naughty Krishna immediately set off to his mission and one can often see paintings and murals depicting Krishna throwing colors on Radha and other 'gopis'. This lovable prank of throwing colored powder and water jets called 'pichkaaris' soon gained favor with the people and it evolved into the tradition of Holi. This is the reason that people often carry images of Krishna and Radha through the streets.
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