It's all about colours

Holi festival

Holi, the festival of colours, is here and Bangaloreans are celebrating the day in their own way. Some are celebrating it with family, others with friends. But what remains the essence of the festival is the colours.

For youngsters like Anamika Kochar, an MBA student of RV Institute of Management, the day is about celebrating it with people close to her heart.

“Last year, I wasn’t able to go home. So after college, I played colours with my friends. We hugged and wished each other and went out for dinner,” she says and adds, “This year, I’m lucky that we have vacations till after the festival. I’m going home to celebrate the festival with family.”

Anamika says that traditionally a puja is done around a heap of wooden twigs, after which it’s set on fire on the night before Holi. “The next day, the entire family joins in to play with colours. It’s like becoming a child all over again. Different sweets like besan ladoo and gujjiya are made during the festival. Also after playing Holi, women do Gidda dance and sing traditional Holi songs,” she details.

Many celebrate the festival in grand style and as the next best festival to Deepavali. Niru Agarwal, a trustee in an international school in the City, says that she tries to carry on the tradition by making special items like dahi bhalla, ker sangri and dal ka halwa for the day.

“There is a puja held the night before the festival day, when holika dahan is done, after which everyone plays with colours the next day. Traditionally, everyone wears white clothes for playing Holi, symbolically inviting the colours on themselves and in their lives,” she says.

Some have interesting traditions as part of this festival. Pranshu Jain, a businessman who stays in a joint family, says that the best part of Holi is when his grandfather recites the story about the day.

“I’ve been hearing it for years now and know it by heart. But it’s something I still enjoy listening to. After work, we all gather to play with gulaal towards the end of the day and enjoy some puri sabji, pakora made out of moong dal, and kheer later on,” he says.

Pranshu adds that the best part of the festival is the reminiscences of colours on personal items and walls even months after the day, which reminds the family of the fun they had.

For youngsters like Uday Sethi, who stays away from his family, Holi celebrations start with a puja after which he heads to his cousin’s place for breakfast and Holi.

“There’s a traditional lunch of puri aloo and kheer after which I go to my friend’s place and we go on bike rides. It’s beautiful to see some of the places like Shantinagar, VV Puram, Basavangudi and BTM 2nd Stage drenched in different colours,” says Uday.

While the festival is all about colours, many are conscious about what they use for the festival. “In our apartment, we always prefer playing with organic colours since they’re easier to take off and don’t harm the skin or hair.

I got introduced to these colours by my friend about two years back and I’ve always used only these after that,” says Ritu, a second-year information science engineering student of Dayananda Sagar Institutions. She adds that while the festival is about having fun with near and dear ones, it’s always best to use safe colours.