Holi & Its Colours in Different States

Holi, very commonly known as the festival of colours, also marks the start of the spring festival. Like all the other festivals in India, Holi too has a significant story behind it. It is said that king Hiranyakashipu, the king of demonic asuras, earned a perk that gave him five special powers. He couldn’t be killed by a human or an animal, neither indoors nor outdoors, neither at day nor at night, neither by Astra (projectile weapons) nor by any Shastra (handheld weapons), and neither on land nor in water or air. The powers made him arrogant and narcissist. When his son Prahlada refused to pray to him, he subjected him to cruel punishments but the boy still refused what he was asked to do. Finally, Holika, Prahlada’s evil aunt, tricked him into sitting on a pyre with her. Holika was wearing a cloak that made her immune to injury from fire, while Prahlada was not. As the fire roared, the cloak flew from Holika and encased Prahlada, who survived while Holika burned. Vishnu, the God who appears as an avatar to restore Dharma in Hindu beliefs, took the form of Narasimha – half human and half lion (which is neither a human nor an animal), at dusk (when it was neither day nor night), took Hiranyakashipu at the doorstep (which is neither indoors nor outdoors), placed him on his lap (which was neither land, water nor air), and then eviscerated and killed the king with his lion claws (which were neither a handheld weapon nor a launched weapon).The Holika bonfire and Holi signifies the celebration of the symbolic victory of good over evil, of Prahlada over Hiranyakashipu, and of the fire that burned Holika. Holi is celebrated all over India in different and amazing forms. From the North to South and East to West, every state has its way of celebrating it.In UP, Holi is known as lath mar Holi. As the name suggests it played with lathis. The women of the village attack men of the village with lathis or sticks. it’s said that Lord Krishna visited their village and teased Radha and her friends and so the women decided to chase him away and thus the tradition continues. Punjab too has a fierce way of celebrating Holi. The next day of Holi is celebrated by people by taking parts in different competitions of kushti, martial arts and other forms of fight where their physical strength is tested. It is called Holla Mohalla in Punjab.West Bengal uniquely celebrates Holi. They place the idols of Radha and Krishna in a palanquin and swing them while the women sing religious songs and aartis, the men play with coloured powder known as abeer and gulaal.In the North, Manipur celebrates Holi as the onset of the spring season. Where it is celebrated for five days with religious songs and playing with colours.Maharashtra is known for celebrating this festival with the most enthusiasm. People burn Holika to signify the victory of good over the bad. The next day people splash colours and gulaal on each other and treat themselves with tasty Puran polis!Holi in Kerala is known by the name Manjul Kuli, which is celebrated in Gosripuram Thiruma’s Konkani Temple. While on the first day, devotees visit the temple, on the second, they spray each other with coloured water, which contains turmeric. After which they dance to traditional folk songs.Holi is celebrated in different forms in different cities but in the end, all of it marks the victory of good over bad and a reason to come together.