These amazing pictures were taken in Vrindavan, India, during the festival of colors, known as Holi. Holi is a spring festival dating back thousands of years, where people apply colored powders onto each other. Holi celebrations start with a Holika bonfire on the night before Holi where people gather, sing and dance.
The next morning is a free for all carnival of colours, where everyone plays, chases and colours each other with dry powder and coloured water, with some carrying water guns and coloured water-filled balloons for their water fight. Anyone and everyone is fair game, friend or stranger, rich or poor, man or woman, children and elders. The frolic and fight with colours occurs in the open streets, open parks, outside temples and buildings. Groups carry drums and musical instruments, go from place to place, sing and dance. People move and visit family, friends and foes, first play with colours on each other, laugh and chit-chat, then share Holi delicacies, food and drinks.
Holi Hai!
Beautiful pictures, but unfortunately, most of the dyes used are completely toxic these days! What will be the result of all these glorious colors eking into the skin of all these participants? Cancer? These colors stain people’s clothes irreparably and stay on the skin for DAYS! In days of your the “colors” were lightly hued, being the result of soaking fragrant flowers in water over night and then being sprayed gently on one’s friends via a sort of syringe/water gun. That was the “Holi” of Lord Krishna’s pastimes…
Beautiful pictures
First time I witnessed Holi Festival at Belgaum. Good.