Culture & Lifestyle / Holi: The Festival Of Colours

Holi: The Festival Of Colours

Culture & Lifestyle Mar 17, 2014

by Anokhi Admin

Every year, Hindus greet the turn of winter into spring with a splash of colour – in some areas, a geyser of colour known as the festival of Holi.

Indians throughout the world enjoy camaraderie, food with a general sense of mischief as they spray each other in dyes and coloured water. The festival holds roots to many Hindu legends associated with the triumph of good over evil. One of the best-known stories tells the tale of the demoness Holika, who tried to kill Prahlad, the son of the demon King Hiranyakashyap for refusing to worship his father. Instead, Holika is consumed in flames, which is replayed each year with bonfires.

Below outlines the festival of fun and colours from India and around the world:

Village of Nandgaon, Uttar Pradesh. In a Holi tradition unique to Nandgaon and Barsana villages, men sing provocative songs to gain the attention of women, who then 'beat' them with bamboo sticks called 'lathis' /dailymail.co.uk

Clash of the sexes: Indian Hindu women from Nandgaon village beat the shield of a man from Barsana village/dailymail.co.uk

Nepalese revellers celebrate the Holi spring festival in Kathmandu /AFP/Prakash Mathma/Getty Images

Holika Dahan ceremony as part of Holi celebrations in Ahmedabad/ India/Sam Panthaky /AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Indian nationals with coloured powder on their faces celebrate the Holi festival in suburban Pasay, south of Manila, Philippines/Aaron Favilia/AP

An Indian schoolchild dressed as the Hindu god Krishna in Bhubaneswar/Asit Kumar/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Holi celebration at the Vedic Dharma Samaj Fremont Hindu Temple on March 16, 2014 in Fremont, Calif./Codi Mills/The Chronicle

Scenes from the inaugural Cape Town Holi One/We Are One Colour Festival/finance.yahoo.com

Indian widows celebrate Holi with water and gulal (coloured powder) in Vrindavan, breaking centuries-old tradition./ Getty Images/ huffingtonpost.com

A reveller covered in coloured powder in South Korea's Indian community at Haeundae beachGetty Images/ huffingtonpost.com

Houston Holi- A man dresses as King Hiranyakashyap/themahanandi.org

A vendor selling Holi colours in India/ .fansshare.com

Anokhi Family wishes you a Happy Holi! Don't forget to share your Holi pics with us @ANOKHI_MEDIA.

_{Featured Image: Radha Temple, Banaras/ Altaf Qadri/ AP/clikhear.palmbeachpost.com/}

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