This blog will tell how the sacred festival of Holi is celebrated differently across the whole nation. This is one other example of the diversity across the Indian subcontinent.
Holi, as we all know is the festival of colors and is celebrated super enthusiastically across Indian subcontinent. This is the day when people of all ages, cast, creed, races, etc. forget their sorrows and grief’s to come together and bathe each other in ‘Gulaal’ as a blessing. This blissful festival is just around the corner. There are much more different types of Holi celebrations happening across different parts of India other than your usual one. Below is a brief description of a few of them.
According to a few legends, Holi began is Barsana region of India, which includes Mathura, Vrindavand, Barsana and Nandgaon. To your surprise, Holi here is not celebrated just with colors, but also with lathis (sticks). As per the tradition on this land of Krishna, women chase the men away with lathis, but wait; it’s no hitting session as then the men come back prepared too.
Hola Mohalla, also known as the warriors Holi, is celebrated here in Punjab region. This particular type of Holi celebration is observed by Nihang Sikhs. They sing their hearts out and also exhibit their martial art skills on this day, which is usually celebrated a day before Holi.
The Basant Utsav Bengali way of welcoming the spring season. Boys and Girls dress themselves up in saffron colored clothes, sing and dance to their fullest to celebrate this festival. Dol Jatra is a part of main Holi festivities. On Dol Purnima, the sacred idols of Radha and Krishna are taken on the streets in a procession while men spray water and sprinkle color to add some fun.
In Manipur, Holi or Yaosang is celebrated for six long days. It begins on the day of full moon day and beautifully blends the indigenous and Hindu traditions. The zenith of the whole festival is the Thabal Chongba, which is a Manipuri folk dance that is performed merrily during this period. To maintain the uniformity and to add to the traditions, people of Manipur paint themselves as well as their streets in the beautiful colors of Holi.
Holi is not as popular in the South India as it is in the Northern part of India. However, a few communities in South India celebrate Holi, but with distinct names and traditions. In Kerala, Holi is celebrated under the name of Manjal Kuli in the Konkani temple of Gosripuram, Thirumala.
Holi and Bihar go hand in hand. The festival is called Phaguwa in the local Bhojpuri language. However, here in Bihar, it is really important to light up the Holika pyre before starting to drench each other in colors. Holi is then celebrated with folk songs being played loudly, water and organic powdered colors. Bhang is also consumed pan state as a ‘Prashaad’ on this holy day.
Phakuwah is what the local Assamese call this festival of Holi. It is a little similar to the Dol Jatra of West Bengal. However, what is different is that the festival here is celebrated over a span of 2 days. Day one is marked by lifting up clay huts, signifying the tradition of Holika Dahan. The second day is just like every other part of India, it is celebrated with colored faces topped up with beautiful smiles.
Flamingo Transworld wishes a happy and safe Holi !!!
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