Holi
21/03/2008
Guru Nanak Jayanti
Tulasi Vivah
Bakri-Id Datta Jayanti
Mahashivaratri
Holi Ranga Panchami
Gudi padwa
About
Holi......Amongst India's innumerable festivals, Holi ranks as the
most colourful. It celebrates the arrival of spring and death of
demoness Holika, it is a celebration of joy and hope. Holi provides a
refreshing respite from the mundane norms as people from all walks of
life enjoy themselves. In a tight knit community, it also provided a
good excuse for letting off some steam and settling old scores,
without causing physical injury.
Holi continues to be
celebrated with great vigour through out India. Countless Hindi films
have brought the vibrant colours of the festival to the screen.
Indians all over the world eagerly await the Festival of Colours, as
bonfires are lit to banish the cold dark nights of winter and usher in
warmer spring. Dhuleti, day after Holi, is the actual festival of
colours, when everything in sight is covered in a riot of colours.
Twin towns of Nandagow (
where Lord Krishna grew up ) and Barsana ( where Shri Radha grew up ),
near Mathura, are the epicentre of the celebrations. Lord Krishna,
while growing up in Vraj, popularised the festival with his ingenious
pranks. Gopies of Vraj responded with equal enthusiasm and the
festivities have continued ever since. Role reversal, feminism etc.
are accepted customs for the duration of the festival! Men and women
of Vraj clash in a colourful display of battle of the sexes.
Celebrations start a week
earlier than rest of India. Men of Nandagow raid Barsana with hopes of
raising their flag over Shri Radhikaji's temple. They receive a
thunderous welcome as the women of Barsana greet them with long wooden
sticks. The men are soundly beaten as they attempt to rush through
town to reach the relative safety of Shri Radhikaji's temple. Men are
well padded as they are not allowed to retaliate. In this mock battle
the men try their best not to be captured. Unlucky captives can be
forcefully lead away, thrashed and dressed in female attire before
being made to dance!!
Rush through Barsana is
far more lethal than running with the bulls in Spain, at least you
don't have to marry them one day! Famous poets like Surdas, Nand-das,
Kumbhan-das and others, have written beautifully as to how Lord
Krishna was similarly received and forced to wear a sari, forced to
wear make-up and made to dance before being released by the gopies of
Vraj.
The next day, men of
Barsana reciprocate by invading Nandagow. Clouds of pink and white
powder mark the frenzy of activity taking place in it's narrow
streets. A naturally occurring orange-red dye, Kesudo, is used to
drench all participants. Today, the women of Nadagow beat the invaders
from Barsana. It is a colourful site. In the interest of tourisum and
safety, the state tourist board has set up excellent vantage points
for the public. A large open ground, on the outskirts of the town is
specially set aside for the most magnificent display of the
festivities.
The next day, the temples
in Vrindavan celebrate the festival with great guesto. The renowned
temple of Bakai-Bihari, the beloved lord of the 15th century saint
Haridas, is at the centre of the festivities. Clouds of pink and white
descend upon the pilgrims, as the Lord of Vrindavan plays holi with
all his beloved visitors.
The festival moves on to
other parts of Vraj. Soon enough, it is Dhulati and entire India
celebrates the joys of spring as the "festival of colour".
Gulal-Kund in Vraj is a
beautiful little lake, set in a delightful groves near the mountain
Goverdhan, in the Mathura district. Here the festival is commemorated
on a more regular basis. Pilgrims who visit the holy land of Vraj, can
see the re-enactments of Holi throughout the year at this lake. Local
boys, acting in the Krishna-Lila drama troupes re-enact the scenes of
holi for the pilgrims.
Royal courts all over
North India refined the festival in to an art form of its own. Rajput
warriors of the Rajasthani courts used to show off their equestrian
skills during the festival. Rajput men would ride their steeds through
the white and pink clouds of colour, throwing colour powders on each
other. Even the members of the royal families were not immune from
being drenched by colour. The entire court would be drenched in
saffron water and an orange-red dye of the "kasuda" flowers.
Pushti-Marga temples,
spread throughout North and Western States of India, celebrate the
festival in a way reminiscent of rajput courts. The Deity, and the
laity, are liberally sprinkled with perfumes, saffron water, kesudo,
and covered in sandalwood aswell as the white and pink powder, abil
and gulal. Joyous celebration is accompanied by classical music,
poetry and folk songs appropriate for the occasion. Deity's white
clothes' are soon transformed into a mass of colour as gold and silver
syringes spray colourful water on all participants.
The celebrations
officially usher in the pleasant season of love, spring. In the
Pushti-Marga temples, the festivities last for almost a month.
Beginning on the day of Vasant-Panchami, the festivals last till the
day after Holi. This helps prolong the season of joy.
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