Holi : Festival of Colours

Holi : Festival of Colours

Keshab Chandra Mandal, Ph. D.

Holi is a holy festival of the Hindus celebrated in most parts of India as well as abroad. This festival is known as the festival of colours or the festival of sharing love. Holi is a two day festival which starts on the Purnima (Full Moon day) falling in the Bikram Sambat Hindu calendar in the month of Falgun which falls somewhere between end of February and Mid of March in the Gregorian Calendar. The first day is known as Holika Dahan or Chhoti Holi while the second day is known as Rangwali Holi, or Dhuleti, Dhulandi. Like Holika Dahan, Kama Dahanam is celebrated in some parts of India. The festival of colours in these parts is called Rangapanchami, and occurs on the fifth day after Poornima (full moon).

On the night before the Holi festival young people burn the effigy of Holika, the unholy sister of demon king Hiranyakasipu, king of Multan in the Punjab region. This is called Holika bonfire where people gather, sing, dance and party. The next morning is celebrated as Rangwali Holi - a free-for-all carnival of colours, where participants play, chase and colour each other with dry powder and coloured water, with some carrying water guns and coloured water-filled balloons are thrown from the rooftop in many metropolitan cities in India. People from all walks of life take part in this 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 other musical instruments, go from place to place, sing and dance. People visit family, friends and foes to throw colour powders on each other, laugh and gossip, then share Holi delicacies, food and drinks. Some drinks are intoxicating. For example, bhang, an intoxicating ingredient made from cannabis leaves, is mixed into drinks and sweets and consumed by many. In the evening, after sobering up, people dress up and visit friends and family.

History and Significance

The festival of Holi is an ancient Hindu festival celebrated with its cultural rituals. It is mentioned in the Puranas, Dasakumara Charita, and by the poet Kalidasa during the 4th century reign of Chandragupta II. The celebration of Holi is also mentioned in the 7th-century Sanskrit drama Ratnavali. The festival of Holi caught the fascination of European traders and British colonial staff by the 17th century. Now the festival of Holi is celebrated with a great significance in the length and breadth of Indian Sub-continent.

The festival itself is believed to have origins from the Prahlada-Puri Temple of Multan in the Punjab region which was built by the great devotee of Lord Vishnu Prahlada, son of Hiranyakashipu. However, the word "Holi" originates from "Holika", the evil sister of the demon king Hiranyakashipu, who was the arrogant kind of Multan. The king by his meditation got a boon that made his virtually indestructible. He became so desperate and arrogant that he began to think himself of a God, and demanded that everyone should worship only him.

But, Hiranyakashipu's own son, Prahlada, went against his father’s dictate and disagreed because he was and remained a keen devoted to Lord Vishnu. This infuriated Hiranyakashipu. He subjected Prahlada to cruel punishments, none of which affected the boy or his resolve to do what he thought was right. 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. Holika burned, Prahlada survived. Seeing this, Hiranyakashipu, unable to control his anger, smashed a pillar with his mace. There was a tumultuous sound, and Lord Vishnu appeared as Lord Narasimha and killed Hiranyakashipu. The bonfire is a reminder of the symbolic victory of good over evil, of Prahlada over Hiranyakashipu, and of the fire that burned Holika.  The next day when the fire cooled down, people applied ash to their foreheads, a practice still observed by some people. Gradually with the passage of time, coloured powder, coloured water etc. came to be used to celebrate Holi.

Importance of the Festival

In Vrindavan, the Brajo Dham region of India, which is the place where the Hindu deity Krishna grew up, the festival is celebrated for 16 days (until Rangpanchmi) in commemoration of the divine love of Radha for Krishna. The festivities officially usher in spring, with Holi celebrated as a festival of love. There is a symbolic myth behind commemorating Krishna as well. As a baby, Krishna developed his characteristic dark blue skin colour because the she-demon Putana poisoned him with her breast milk. In his youth, Krishna despaired whether the fair-skinned Radha and other girls would like him because of his skin colour was dark. His mother, tired of the desperation, asks him to approach Radha and colour her face in any colour he wanted. This he does, and Radha and Krishna became a couple. Ever since, the playful colouring of Radha's face has been commemorated as Holi. Beyond India, these legends to explain the significance of Holi (Phagwah) are common in some Caribbean and South American communities of Indian origin such as Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. It is also celebrated with great fervour in the USA, UK, Nepal, Pakistan, Fiji, Bangladesh, Mauritius and other places of the world.

The Holi festival has further cultural significance. It is the festive day to end and rid oneself of past errors, to end conflicts by meeting others, a day to forget and forgive. People pay or forgive debts, as well as deal anew with those in their lives. Holi also marks the start of spring, and for many the start of the new year.

Purposes for Celebration of this festival

The festival has many purposes; most prominently, it celebrates the beginning of Spring. In 17th century literature, it was identified as a festival that celebrated agriculture, commemorated good spring harvests and the fertile land. Hindus believe it is a time of enjoying spring's abundant colours and saying farewell to winter. To many Hindus, Holi festivities mark the beginning of the new-year as well as an occasion to reset and renew ruptured relationships, end conflicts and rid themselves of accumulated emotional impurities from the past.

Conclusions

When the country is going through the debate of tolerance versus intolerance and corruption has reached its zenith, people of India as a whole and West Bengal in particular should come forward to burn the effigy of devil deity of corruption and punish all the corrupt persons who are like demons. Let the evil power be destructed and the good and corruption-less, pure and people-friendly government be established in our state. All like minded people should come forward to build a united front to combat the evil forces for establishing a different type of government which will be represented by truly educated, moral, sincere, and pure people. The good and honest leaders can only take this country ahead in the days to come.