Photo Credit: Thomas Hawk Remixed under creative commons license
Holi – The Bright, Bold & Boisterous play of Indians is famous worldwide today. Everybody wants to join this bash of colors at least once in a life time. This Holi festival only boost the image of India as a rich tradition and multi colored country.
So from where does this Holi bash started from or what it means to someone who is unknown to it, what is the story behind it?
It is said to have its origins in a tale from Hindu mythology, in which there was a demon king Hiranyakashyapu who was granted boon by Brahma, the Hindu god of creation, to become immortal as he pleased him with his ‘Tapasya’ hermitism or asceticism and proved to be a devoted servant. As the Hiranyakashyapu got the boon of immortality it all gone not well with him and he got arrogant. He started causing lot of trouble to people; he just wanted everybody in his kingdom to worship him only. But to his great disappointment, his son Prahlada was not
amused and he started opposing his father and became an ardent devotee of Lord Narayana which only annoyed Hiranyakashyapu further.
After failing to kill his son Prahlada in a number of horrible ways, Hiranyakashyapu finally commanded his sister, Holika a demon who had a boon whereby she could enter fire without any damage on herself as she was immune to fire, to enter a blazing fire with Prahlada in her lap. Hiranyakashyapu wanted his son to be burnt alive, then Prahlada prayed to God Vishnu to keep him safe as once the fire was lit he survived the fire but Hoilka burned alive. However, Holika was not aware of the fact that the boon would work only when she would enter the fire alone. As a result she paid a price causing her life for her sinister desires, while Prahlada was saved by the grace of the god for his extreme devotion.
The bonfire set the night before the Holi color splash are symbolic of victory of good over evil and also triumph of devotion.
People also associate legend Lord Krishna with the color splash of Holi as it is believed that Lord started the tradition of play with colors on his beloved Radha and other gopis, who were known to be a devotee of Lord Krishna. Gradually, the play gained popularity with the people and became a tradition. There are also a few other people who associate the festival with the legends like God Shiva and kaamdeva and those of Ogress Dhundhi and Pootna (a demoness who was sent by Krishna’s evil uncle Kamsa to kill Krishna). All these incidents depict triumph of good over evil- leading philosophy behind this colorful festival.
The basic idea of celebrating this festival is to show the mythological and philosophical view but it is more than that, as it shows you the urge to live life at fullest. India is known for its festivals and multi-cultured society, where everyone enjoy these festivals across religious boundaries.
Holi has the special place in this arena of festivals as it has that unique identity of expressing freedom, meeting people forgetting all odds of life, fun, it has that unique character of Oneness and harmony and last but not the least showing solidarity with everyone.
In fact this is the favorite festival amongst youth and specially celebrated by this young mass. Holi is celebrated specially in almost every school, college and university with full of fun and color splash creating special zones to enjoy this festival. Irony with students while celebrating this festival is that it comes during the examination time which creates sort of dilemma for students whether to spare time from studies and enjoy this festival time or to be continue with important studies.
Hence despite every hurdle Indians know how to steal those cherished moments while doing other important things. Students plan for Holi well before a month or so, deciding venue is utmost requirement to be finalized as during this Holi bash place go dirty and creates inferno, next is to finalize on attire generally it goes white in color and rest is your choice, color and stocking of water to play is regular process as water scarcity is not new in many parts of India. Other than all these preparations food is something without that no festival is complete so it has the special plans with Gujiya, Thandai, Maalpua, pakode , dahibade and not to forget that special Baang ki lassi and mouth watering Thandai and much more.
People who are done with their student life can never forget that bash in their school or college life. People come from far places where they are working to their native places just to spend that one special day along with family and friends.
Other than that you can see that Holi spring in bollywood songs, where number of dedicated songs are there to celebrate this festival. Rang Barse , Aaj na chorenge, Holi khele Raghuveera are few memorable songs which are going to last for decades. Big bash Holi parties thrown from bollywood superstars remain in news for several days and weeks.
This festival is massively celebrated by temple’s in India specially of Lord Krishna’s as this festival is associated directly with him, Matura Holi is something not to give a miss while in India during Holi season. Local Krishna temples are well decorated with flowers and electric lighting, in temples holi is played with flower petals and Gulal.
So you can say Holi is not just a festival it’s a way of life depicting grace and fun loving nature of people around India. On this auspicious time of Holi you can donate your used products of Holi which you are not intended to use to bring that smile on faces who cannot afford to buy this. Use our online exchange used goods platform Allstudyx to do the needful to spread happiness on this beautiful festival of Holi.
