Vrindavan embraces colours of joy on Holi

New Delhi: The vibrant festival of colours is finally here! Holi is one of the most awaited festivals in India and people absolutely love getting drenched in colours, water and balloons while chanting “Holi Hai.” Holi is a celebration of joy, goodness, and the season of spring. People dance and enjoy with music and also smear colours on each other’s faces.

Keeping the fervour, frolic and essence of the festival alive, people of Vrindavan on Wednesday, gathered at the Banke Bihari temple and celebrated the festival of colours in full swing on the auspicious day of Holika Dahan or Choti Holi.

To mark the occasion, the devotees and saints performed aarti in the temple and, thereafter, played with dry colours (gulaal). The local residents celebrated the festival with happiness and enthusiasm, while also smearing each other with dry colours at the Banke Bihari temple which is dedicated to Lord Krishna.

Meanwhile, in Bhopal, people chose to go eco-friendly this time. The local residents of the city used cow dung for celebrating Holika Dahan.A scientist from Bhopal, Yogen Kumar Saxena spoke to ANI and said, “The people of Bhopal have started using cow dung as a more effective way of burning corpses in the cremation grounds in the city. They use cow dung to make wood like logs which are then dried out in the sun to remove the moisture in them. Those logs are also being used for performing Holika Dahan. Bhopal is now becoming eco-friendly."

He also added, “22 quintals of those logs have been taken by the public as of yet. Around 60-70 per cent of cremations in Bhopal are now done using these cow dung logs which has effectively brought down the number of trees being cut.”

Today marks the Holika Dahan, also known as Chhoti Holi. Holy pyres are burnt on streets, signifying the victory of good over evil. People also perform 'parikrama' around the fire. The legend of Prahlad, Holika and Hiranyakashyap are associated with it.

The festival of Holi, which is celebrated across the country with great enthusiasm every year, marks the triumph of good over evil, along with the arrival of the spring season.

On this occasion, people apply colours in each other's face and relish the festive sweet 'Gujiya' and have 'Thandai' with friends and family during evening. A day before Holi, people celebrate Choti Holi, where they burn stash of woods to fend off evil. Amritsar, Kanpur, Vrindavan, Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Tripura, Ludhiana, Bhopal are amongst the few cities that celebrate the festival in a grand manner.

To experience the grand celebration and riot of colours, travellers from around the world visit Barsana. In Vrindavan too, Holi celebrations begin early and continue for about a week. With chants of hari bhajans, dance, colours, water, flowers and lip-smacking sweets, the festival is celebrated with great joy.