Holi India – A festival of Gifts, Colors and Festivities - By: Pooja Kumar

Holi(days)are here again. The paint festival of India is all set to roll in and so obviously it’s once again the time of the year to paint the town red. Yes! No other festival could in fact match the wild and raucous enthusiasm of Holi. The air suddenly would be filled up with the anaesthetizing ministrations of holi, mirrored in the demeanor of the young and the old, friends and enemies alike who in fact would go out of their way and strike colorful friendships by smearing each other with gulal, hurling water balloons and needless to say, by exchange of holi gifts. Online stores in fact offer a slew of Holi gifts ideas that will indeed make the recipient feel special.

Origin of Holi

There are several stories associated with the origin of Holi. However, a popular legend has it that Hiranyakashyap, the demon king, who considered himself to be the ruler of Universe was offended by his son’s faithful devotion to Lord Vishnu. The king explored several shocking ways to kill his son; however, finally he sought his sister Holika’s help to do away with his son. As per the plan, Holika seized Prahalad and sat with him in the midst of blazing fire. Contrary to the plan, Holika was reduced to ashes, while Prahalad survived. The moral of the story being: victory of good over evil. To commemorate this story, large bonfires are burned during Holi.

Holi in Modern India

Since time immemorial Holi has been an integral part of Indian traditions. However the best part being: the popularity of this festival is evidently rising every year. May be because, no other festival bestow people so much freedom and liberty, as festival of holi does. People turn play animals literally and on the top of it to further boost the spirit of festivity there is full social sanction to get intoxicated with the tradition of bhang. The situation turns totally wild during the festivities as people crazily dance to the beat of dholak and alongside sing folk songs in loud pitch. Lo and behold, the children seem to enjoy the most as they all seem to be running around fully armed with their water missiles and water filled balloons, targeting one and all who dare to cross their pathways.

Amidst all these holi games, people also love to lay their hands on mouth watering holi delicacies like gujiya, malpuas, mathri, puran poli, dahi badas etc with glasses full of thandai.

Holi Celebrations Across states

Punjab : In Punjab Sikhs celebrate Hola Mohalla. It is played out in such a large scale so much so that NRIs get drawn to this state especially during this time to celebrate Holi in grand style.

UP- Barsana is the perfect place to be if you are really interested in playing Lath mar Holi in big-bang way.

Bengal : Shantiniketan, celebrates Holi with music.

Gujarat: Holi is celebrated with great verve and enthusiasm in Gujarat. Young boys in Ahmedabad make huge human pyramids and try to break the pot of buttermilk hung high on the streets.

We wish all readers a very Happy, Naughty and fun-fraught Holi 2010. It is being celebrated on Monday, the 1st March 2010.

About the Author

Pooja Kumar writes for GujaratGifts.com, the renowned 12 year old website to send gifts to india. The site offers to send holi gifts to over 2500 cities all over India.

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