Holi The Festival of Colors
In Hindu tradition, the festival of Holi marks the beginning of spring and the passing of winter and it is exactly that time of the year again. This festival, also commonly known as the festival of colors, is celebrated all over India in happy and bright spirits. Holi is not restricted to just India but extends to the whole world in Hindu communities. Just the thought of this bright festival encourages people to forget their worries and embrace the colors. With a festival like holi, colors like green, blue, red, yellow are found in every direction the eye looks, even the air seems joyous with so much cheerfulness.
Although, it is celebrated in India since times immemorial, each year the preparations seem to get crazier. This can be explained by the fact that no other festival allows the people to forget about their worries, let their hair down and embrace their inner crazy self quite like Holi does.
Holi is the second most prominent festival in Hindu religion after Diwali which can be aptly gauged by the preparations that start every year when Holi is around the corner. The whole country seems to look brighter when Holi is near; we see market places filled with the public in a shopping frenzy trying to buy the right colors for the festival. Heaps of different hues and colours line the roadside.
New and innovative styles for pichkaris are also introduced every year, especially to grab the attention of the youngsters who want to collect the most creative memorabilia this Holi. Preparations for special foods are also made; the women get busy in making sweets for the entire family and their relatives to celebrate this beautiful festival in all its zeal.
Holi marks the arrival of spring which is itself a season of transformation, it bids farewell to the gloomy season of winter. As flowers bloom, so do peoples’ spirit, there is always something special about the season that makes everybody look forward to the bright festival of colors. It seems as if the nature is also rejoicing at the arrival of the spring and wearing its best, brightest clothes.
The festival, in itself is characterized by many memorable things. There is a lot of color in the air, people are embracing each other, there is delicious food, there is music and everybody joins in the dancing, be it the youngsters or the elders, while some people are taking pictures to save the joyous moments on film forever. To kick-start the festive spirit of this happy festival, there is the ages old tradition of Thandai, which adds just the right mix of crazy to the wind to allow everybody to enjoy Holi to his or her fullest.
The festival of Holi may be celebrated with different names all over the world and even with different traditions in different states, but the essence of this festival remains the same all over the globe, wherever it is celebrated, to let people enjoy colour like nothing else and let the hues of Holi mark their faces and their hearts.
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