Maharajas' Express Blog

Holi Festival : A Celebration to Express Warmth With Colors

holi

Holi is a celebration to express warmth with colours which takes place during Phalgun Poornima that usually takes place either in the end of February or the beginning of March. This festival of colours helps in rebuilding the relationships of the people. People celebrate this festival by rubbing colours and a €˜Gulal€™ on each other€™s face and wish them by saying €˜Bura Na Maano Holi Hai, Holi Mubarak€™. It also gives an opportunity to take blessings from elders and sharing love and affection with near and dear ones.Although Holi is celebrated throughout the country but in places like Mathura, Nand Gaon, Vrindawan, Haryana and Agra, it has its own charm. People celebrate this festival with great vigor and enthusiasm. In places like Barshana and Nandgaon, the €˜Lathmar Holi is quite very famous. On the occasion of Holi, men from Nandgaon sortie into Barshana to raise their flag over the Sri Radha Rani temple and women of Barshana welcome them with long wooden sticks. The spirit of this colourful festival makes it unique and special throughout the country.There is a popular story in the Indian mythology regarding the €˜Festival of Colours€™-Holi. According to the Hindu mythology, the son of Asura Hiranyakashyapu, Prahlad was a great devote of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashypu was the staunch enemy of Lord Vishnu and it was unacceptable to the Asura king that his own son is the devotee of his brother€™s assassin. Upon the request of her sister, Holika, who had a boon that she can enter the fire and return unscathed, entered the fire carrying Prahlad in her lap. However, the boon failed to protect her and she was burned to ashes. But Prahlad was miraculously saved by chanting the name of Lord Vishnu.To this day, a bonfire, before the day of Holi, is set up and burned to commemorate the victory of good over evil. Scroll down and take a look at the chain of events through which people undergo while preparing for this festival.