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Gulal, the color of Holi -

Gulal is the traditional name given to the colored powders used for the Holi festival. The colors are derived from medical herbs. Pictured is a gulal market in Kolkata, India. 

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Natural colors -

A man holds a handful of vermilion powder as he gets ready to throw it to mark the commencement of Holi in Kathmandu, Nepal. The flowers of the palash or tesu tree are a typical source of bright red and deep orange colors.

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Color-coordinated - Holi is all about playing with colors—green, yellow, blue, magenta, purple, brown, and even black!

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The arrival of spring -

The festival signifies the victory of good over evil, the arrival of spring, and the end of winter.

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Meet and greet - Holi is also about meeting others, joining in fun and celebration, and the reconciliation of failed relationships.

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Thanksgiving -

At the same time, the festival is seen as a thanksgiving opportunity to celebrate a good harvest—it is, after all, a spring festival.

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A brief affair -

Holi is a brief, chaotic, but hugely enjoyable affair. It lasts a night and a day, starting on the evening of the full moon.

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Holika Dahan -

First evening festivities commence with the burning of the demon Holika Dahan. In 2020, one effigy in Mumbai took the form of the COVID-19 virus, or the "Coronasur." 

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Burning the demon - Devotees gather in front of a bonfire where they pray and perform religious rituals. The burning of the demon represents people's own wish to banish their internal evil.

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Rangwali Holi - The following morning is celebrated as Rangwali Holi, when the colorful festivities begin in earnest.

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Water and powder -

This vibrant free-for-all is a playful cultural event and an excuse to throw colored powder and water at friends or strangers in jest.

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Free-for-all -

Holi is one of the most eclectic festivals in the world. Anyone is fair game—man or woman, kids or elders, rich or poor. If you're out on the street, then you've signed up for a technicolor drenching.

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Colored up - Getting "colored up" is to be sprinkled with all the hues of gulal. Eventually everyone is smeared this way, their faces resembling an abstract canvas.

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Chandragupta II -

While a celebration, Holi has a religious purpose. As an ancient Hindu festival, the event dates back to the 4th century CE and the reign of Chandragupta II.

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Location, location, location - The way Holi is celebrated differs depending on what area or region it takes place in. Different states in India, for example, have their own unique way of observing the festival.

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Lathmar Holi -

The town of Mathura in India's Uttar Pradesh state celebrates Lathmar Holi, where women playfully "beat up" men with long staves called lathis.

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A woman's world -

The men protect themselves with shields on an occasion where they are culturally expected to accept whatever women dish out to them.

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Temple gathering - Hindu devotees play with colored powders during Holi celebrations at the Bankey Bihari Temple in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh.

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Kuaoni Holi - In Uttarakhand state, they celebrate Kuaoni Holi, which includes a musical element.  Devotees sing songs laced with melody and spiritualism.

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Music and dance -

Devotees enjoying Holi listen and often dance to the tune of ethnic musical instruments.

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Singing and chanting - But music is an important aspect in all Holi festivals. Here, men daubed in vermilion sing religious hymns as they take part in Lathmar Holi celebrations inside a temple in the town of Barsana, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

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Holi Milan - In the eastern Indian state of Bihar, festival elders smear others with color as a mark of "greeting the day" before celebrations particular to the area, known as Holi Milan.

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"Psychedelic happening" - On the day, as elsewhere throughout India, the festival is celebrated with color and frolic. Even turbans end up looking like examples of psychedelic art.

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Face painting - Holi Milan also sees family members and well-wishers visiting homes and applying gulal on each other's faces. And on feet, if elderly.

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Day of the "Dola" - The people of India's Odisha state celebrate "Dola" on the day of Holi. Rather than icons of Krishna and Radha, locals instead pray to icons of Jagannath.

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Natural makeup - A man daubed in gulal pauses for a photograph during the festivities.

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End of festivities -

As festivities marking Holi draw to a close, many streets are left coated with a film of colored water, sometimes resembling spilled blood.

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The morning after -

Two gray langurs enjoy some peace and quiet on purple-stained steps in Pushkar after the Holi festivities. 

See also: Stunning Hindu temples you need to see to believe.

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