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| People celebrating Holi, by applying colors on each other. |
Children enjoying the festival of colors |
This is pre-eminently the spring festival of India, celebrated mostly in the month of February or March. The trees are smiling with their sprout of tender leaves and blooming flowers. With the harvest having been completed and the winter also just ended, it is pre-eminently a festival of mirth and merriment. 'Gulal' (colored powder) is sprinkled on each other by elders and children, men and women, rich and poor alike. All superficial social barriers are pulled down by the all-round gaiety and laughter.
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| People celebrating Holi, by applying colors on each other. |
Children enjoying the festival of colors |
Markets are flooded with heaps of gulal - they are arranged in pyramids and sold loose. Vendors sit on street corners selling gulal to passers-by. Gulal is made up of many rich colors like pink, magenta, red, yellow and green. 'Abeer' is made of small crystals or paper like chips of mica. This is usually mixed with the gulal to give it a rich shine. These colors can be used dry, or mixed with water.
Colored powder (Gulal) is bought and prepared, long syringes called 'pichkaris' are made ready and water balloons are bought and filled. Children, friends and neighbors gather on the streets and a riot of color takes over. Colored powders called 'abeer' or 'gulal' are thrown into the air and smeared on faces and bodies. 'Pichkaris' are filled with colored water and this is spurted onto people. Water balloons are thrown at friends and neighbors in the spirit of fun. The younger crowd is drenched with buckets of colored water and pummeled with water balloons. 'Dholaks' or Indian drums are heard everywhere and the songs of Holi are carried by the voices of these merry-makers.
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| Markets flooded with colored powder |
