Holi is celebrated with gaiety and pomp and show in different parts of India but lets have a look at the regional touch to Holi in various states. Uttar Pradesh


Holi is a youth festival, as it provides an opportunity for young men and women to mingle freely and participate in dances and cultural programs in an otherwise conservative society. Young men throw coloured powder and coloured water on women, using pichkaris. The origin of this custom can be found in the pranks of Krishna, who used to drench milkmaids in the village with water and play various other tricks on them. The main ritual on this day centres on a bonfire ceremoniously kindled at the time of the rising moon. This suggests that the festival is also a celebration of the barley harvest. On Choti Holi, they come together to light the fire. A pot of new barley seeds is buried under the pyre for roasting. These seeds are eaten after the fire is extinguished. Divinations for the coming harvest are cast by interpreting the direction of the flames or by the state of the seeds in the buried pot. People sometimes take embers from the fire to their homes to rekindle their own domestic fires. The ashes from the Holi fire are also believed to provide protection against diseases. Mathura and Vrindavan

Twin towns of Nandagow (where Lord Krishna grew up) and Barsana ( where Shri Radha grew up ), near Mathura, are the epicentre of the celebrations. Lord Krishna, while growing up in Vraj, popularised the festival with his ingenious pranks. Gopies of Vraj responded with equal enthusiasm and the festivities have continued ever since. Role reversal, feminism etc. are accepted customs for the duration of the festival! Men and women of Vraj clash in a colourful display of battle of the sexes. Celebrations start a week earlier than rest of India. Men of Nandagow raid Barsana with hopes of raising their flag over Shri Radhikaji’s temple. They receive a thunderous welcome as the women of Barsana greet them with long wooden sticks. The men are soundly beaten as they attempt to rush through town to reach the relative safety of Shri Radhikaji’s temple. Men are well padded as they are not allowed to retaliate. In this mock battle the men try their best not to be captured. Unlucky captives can be forcefully lead away, thrashed and dressed in female attire before being made to dance!! Rush through Barsana is far more lethal than running with the bulls in Spain, at least you don’t have to marry them one day! Famous poets like Surdas, Nand-das, Kumbhan-das and others, have written beautifully as to how Lord Krishna was similarly received and forced to wear a sari, forced to wear make-up and made to dance before being released by the gopies of Vraj. The next day, men of Barsana reciprocate by invading Nandagow. Clouds of pink and white powder mark the frenzy of activity taking place in it’s narrow streets. A naturally occurring orange-red dye, Kesudo, is used to drench all participants. Today, the women of Nadagow beat the invaders from Barsana. It is a colourful site. In the interest of tourism and safety, the state tourist board has set up excellent vantage points for the public. A large open ground, on the outskirts of the town is specially set aside for the most magnificent display of the festivities. The next day, the temples in Vrindavan celebrate the festival with great guesto. The renowned temple of Bakai-Bihari, the beloved lord of the 15th century saint Haridas, is at the centre of the festivities. Clouds of pink and white descend upon the pilgrims, as the Lord of Vrindavan plays holi with all his beloved visitors. The festival moves on to other parts of Vraj. Soon enough, it is Dhulati and entire India celebrates the joys of spring as the “festival of colour”.

Gulal-Kund in Vraj is a beautiful little lake, set in a delightful groves near the mountain Goverdhan, in the Mathura district. Here the festival is commemorated on a more regular basis. Pilgrims who visit the holy land of Vraj, can see the re-enactments of Holi throughout the year at this lake. Local boys, acting in the Krishna-Lila drama troupes re-enact the scenes of Holi for the pilgrims. Haryana


This is called Dulandi Holi in Haryana, where the bhabhi beats her devar with her sari rolled up into a rope. All this is done in good humour and in the evening the devar brings sweetmeats for his bhabhi. Punjab


The Sikh community also celebrates Holi with feasting and merriment and call it Hola Mohalla. Maharashtra


In Maharashtra Holi is commonly known by the name of “Shimga” and is also called RANGAPANCHAMI. The fisherfolk celebrate it on a large-scale with hilarious singing, dancing and merry-making. To-day this festival retains its significance mostly in middle-class and the poorer sections of the state. During the Maratha regime this festival was celebrated with great pomp and grandeur. It was on a Holi festival day that five year Jijabhai, daughter of Lakhooji Jadhav innocently splashed coloured water and threw gulal on young shahaji, son of Malajirao Bhowale. Taking it as an auspicious event, the two children’s engagement was announced that very day. Soon they were married. Shivaji, the son born to this couple fought valiantly and shook the very foundation of the powerful Mogul empire. Thus Shivaji established the Maratha empire and changed the course of history. In Maharashtra and Gujarat, a grand procession of men soaked with coloured water walks through the streets shouting ‘Govinda alha re alha, Zara matki sambhal brijbala” or ‘Here comes Govinda (another name of Krishna), take care of your pots of butter and milk, oh girls from Brij’. This refers to Krishna’s habit of stealing butter and milk stored in terracotta pots from people’s homes. As a child, Krishna was extremely fond of milk and milk products. He would prowl into any accessible house with his friends and steal pots of butter or breaks pots of milk. Rajasthan


In the towns of Rajasthan — especially Jaisalmer — the music’s great, and clouds of pink, green, and turquoise powder fill the air. The grounds of Jaisalmer’s Mandir Palace are turned into chaos, with dances, folk songs, and colored-powder confusion. West Bengal


In Bengal this festival is known by the name of Dol Jatra or Dol Purnima. On this day the idol of Mahaprabhu Chaitanya, placed in a pictursuqely decorated palanquin is taken round the main streets of the city. The head of the Bengali family observes fast and prays to Lord Krishna and Agnidev. After all the traditional rituals are over, he smears Krishna’s idol with gulal and offers “bhog” to both Krishna and Agnidev. This festival of Holi still retains to charm in Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s Shanti Niketan. On the Dol Purnima day in the early morning the students dress up in saffron-coloured clothes and wear garlands of fragrant flowers. They sing and dance to the accompaniment of musical instruments before their teachers and the invited guests, sitting in a colourfully decorated dais. In the end dry gulal powder and the auspicious black abhir is smeared on the foreheads of everyone. Use of liquid colours is fully forbidden. Manipur


In Manipur, Holi is a six-day festival here, commencing on the full moon day of Phalguna. The traditional and centuries-old Yaosang festival of Manipur amalgamated with Holi in the18th century with the introduction of Vaishnavism. The entire theme of the festival is woven into the worship of Krishna and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, also known as a popular Manipuri folk dance, is associated with this festival. The literal meaning of Thabal is ‘moonlight’ and Chongba means ‘dance.’ In earlier times, this dance was performed in the moonlight accompanied by folk songs. The only musical instrument used was a dholak or drum. With the passage of time, modern bands and fluorescent lamps have replaced the dholak. Thabal Chongba provided the chance for girls to meet and talk to boys. It is performed in every locality on all the six days of the festival.