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Holi: The Festival of Colors
Holi: The Festival of Colors | History, Date, Facts & Where to visit during Holi
We usually think that Holi is the festival of colors, which is right but what we don’t think is that it is the day when people forget any past brawl of families and move on with life, the day when the guests are first greeted with colors and then treated with delicious snacks. With only one motto on their lips “Bura Na Mano Holi Hai” means don’t feel bad, it’s Holi.
The Grandeur of this festival can be witnessed weeks before it, you will see kids running around with their water guns soaking every other person wet. And if you want to make this festival once in a lifetime experience you can visit the cities Mathura and Vrindavan, these cities are the home land of the supreme deity Lord Krishna and hence celebrate Holi with utmost grandeur.
The onset of the festival Holi, marks the beginning of spring and the farewell of the winter. Many Hindus believes that during the festival, it is the time to enjoy the abundance of colors and joy. This rich festival is celebrated on the full moon day according to the Hindu Luni-solar calendar.
Mythologies associated with Holi
There are countless mythologies that are associated with Holi, but in this blog we’re going to talk about the important one.
The true meaning of Holi is Victory of Good over Evil, this festival gives hope that no matter how dark the night is, brightness will come and will demolish all the darkness.
The very first and famous mythology that is associated with Holi is about the 4th avatar of Lord Vishnu, Narasimha and his devotee Prahlada. Hiranyakashipu- King of Asuras, who was also the father of Prahlad had achieved a boon that made him invincible, the boon was: No animal or human can kill him, nor he can get killed indoors and outdoors, nor by Astra and Shastra (projectile and handheld weapons), nor at day or night, and neither on land air or water.
He became arrogant, thinking he’s the only god he commanded everyone to worship him and devote themselves only to him. But his son, being the greatest devotee of Lord Vishnu couldn’t devote to his father and remained a devotee of Vishnu only. Hiranyakashipu put Prahlad through various cruel punishments, but still he won’t devote to him.
So, Holika the evil sister of Hiranyakashipu and the aunt of Prahlad deceived him, making him sit in fire with her. The evil Holika was wearing a cloak that had magical powers making her immune to fire while Prahlad wasn’t. As they both sat on the fire the cloak flew and covered Prahlad due to which Holika got burned. And later at the dusk, Lord Vishnu- the preserver of Universe took avatar of Narasimha, forcefully pulled Hiranyakashipu at the door step placed the king on his lap and exenterated Hiranyakashipu.
Due to this, the Holika Dahan which is a ritual practice among Hindus during Holi shows the victory of good over evil.
What is Holika Dahan?
Holika Dahan is a ritual which was derived from the mythological story of Hiranyakashipu and Prahlad. It is a symbol that shows the victory of Good over bad. Just before the night of Holi is called the ‘Chhoti Holi’ is when all the people gather around and lit a bonfire, they play and dance around the bonfire
Holi in Mathura & Vrindavan | Braj Ki Holi
Mathura and Vrindavan are two of the best destinations in India to witness the real grandeur of Holi. These cities are considered to be the birthplace of the supreme deity Lord Krishna and Shri Radha Rani.
The mythological story behind the famous Braj ki Holi is that every year Lord Krishna used to travel from his village (Nand Gaon) to Radha’s Village (Barsana), in order to play Holi where Radha and the Gopis used to playfully beat Krishna with Sticks.
Talking about today’s Holi, the excitement and craze can be seen weeks prior from the festival. Mathura and Vrindavan are famous for their Lathmar Holi and Matki Phod Holi. The city gets filled with colors flowers and joy.
In the village of Barsana and Nandgaon, you can see the ancient traditional type of Holi, which is Lathmar Holi. The legend has it that when Lord Krishna used to enter the village of Radha, the Gopis used to playfully beat Krishna with the sticks. That tradition is being followed till now, you will see numerous young men get playfully beaten by their wives.
The Matki Phod Holi on the other side is famous in Mathura, but you can see various people performing it on the other cities as well. It is a type of game where several Men or Women forms teams and make a pyramid shape form in order to reach the pot filled with buttermilk. And during the procession you will see thousands of people chanting the name and giving them motivation to continue. Many will throw waters and colors on them to make it more difficult.
One of the major tourist attractions you can visit is the Banke Bihari Temple where you will see thousands of devotees immersing themselves into the worship of Krishna.
Holi in Jaipur
Famously called the Pink city, Jaipur is also the capital city of the vibrant state Rajasthan. It has its own way to celebrate the festival, on the day of Holi, the people of Jaipur starts decorating their houses with the beautiful flowers and rangoli on the entrance.
You can try out watching the Elephant Festival which is held every year in Jaipur, the elephants are carefully picked and groomed. You can also see a rally marching through the roads of Jaipur, the main attraction in Jaipur during holy is the Goving De Ji temple, being the oldest temple in the city this temple is decorated with utter devotion and beauty.
Holi in Pushkar
Pushkar is a holy and one of the oldest cities in Rajasthan, due to its significant culture and religious beliefs, Pushkar is also one of the cities that vibrantly enjoys the festival of Holi, with all the people of town being gathered, Pushkar comes alive and exudes an unreal charm. The loud music, the dancing, the colors being flown by one another and the kids playing with water guns, gives you truly an experience.
One of the fascinating things you would see is the day of Holika Dahan, as Pushkar itself a holy city and the culture and rituals are strongly executed you will get to know about the real Holika Dahan, sit with elders and gather the tale of heroic epics.
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