This year Holi will be a week-long affair as according to the Hindu calendar, it falls on Phalguna pournami, which falls on Friday. The festival will begin with a community bonfire — holika dahan in which families come and offer prayers and offerings.

Good over evil
The fire is symbolic of Prahlad’s triumph of good over evil.

This year the muhurtham is late in the evening, after 7.30 pm. Most of the communities have planned the holika dahan at around 9.30 pm. After the prayers, some traditional snacks and thandai (a milk-based cool drink) will be served to people.

The main festival will be celebrated on Saturday morning during which people will smear or spray colours on their friends and relatives.

In the evening, ‘Holi Sneha Milan’ or community get together are planned with cultural events and dinner. Mahendra Jindal of Agarwal Samaj said they will hold holika dahan at six places — Basaveshwaranagar, J P Nagar, Banshankhari, R T Nagar, HAL and Shanthinagar after 9.30 pm.

Delicacies
“Women will perform pooja in the morning and prepare special delicacies like halwa, puri, kanji-vade and namkeen (spicy dishes). On Saturday we will play with colours and in the evening we will have the holi milan,” he said.

Vijay Saboo of Maheshwari Samaj said they will have their holika dahan at Seshadripuram and Gandhinagar followed by colour festival and a get together at Oaklipuram.

“We will have the bonfire at Basaveshwaranagar, J P Nagar and Banshankhari. We will apply only gulal (dry colours) on each other the next morning and have a community meeting in Thyagarajnagar,” said Satish Jain of Karnataka Pradesh Vaishya Samaj. The Saraswat Samaj will be celebrating the festival of colours on Sunday at a resort in Nelamangala, said Nandlal Sarkha.

Non-toxic colours
Meanwhile consultant dermatologist Dr Mukta Sachdev has warned that holi colours can contain pigments, which may cause irritation or skin allergy.

“They can lead to itching, irritation and skin rashes. Avoid metallic or toxic colours; they can permanently discolour the skin. Wash the area with water; if irritation persists, contact a dermatologist. There are non-toxic, less irritant colours available in the market, which are safe,” she said.

WHAT LEGEND SAYS
According to a Hindu legend demon king Hiranyakashyap wanted everybody in his kingdom to worship him but his son, Prahlad was an ardent devotee of Lord Narayana. An enraged Hiranyakashyap commanded his sister, Holika to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad on her lap. Holika had a boon whereby she could enter fire without any damage on herself.

However, she was not aware that the boon worked only when she entered the fire alone. The result was that she was burnt alive and Prahlad was saved by the grace of the god. Holi, therefore, celebrates the victory of good over evil and also the triumph of devotion. It is also believed that Lord Krishna started the tradition of playing with colours by applying colour on his beloved Radha and other gopikas.

SECURTIY FOR 3 FESTIVALS
With three festivals –– Holi, Id-e-Milad-un-Nabi and Good Friday falling on the same day, police have made elaborate security arrangements in the City.

Bangalore City Police Commissioner N Achutha Rao told mediapersons on Thursday that adequate security arrangements have been made. Mr Rao said the jurisdictional police stations were asked to be strict with regard to holi revelry. Any untoward incidents will be dealt with seriously. Heavy patrolling will be on all the streets, including the bylanes, he informed. Meanwhile, 500 RAF and CRPF personnel held a flag march in some areas.