Happy Holi to All!

[Guest guest]

MUMBAI (March 3, 2007): The festival of colours and goodwill, Holi is

here again. Holi or Rang Panchami is one festival but the ways to

celebrate it are many. Here is some information about the festival,

and how you could enjoy it best and yet not compromise on safety:

 

ABOUT HOLI CELEBRATION

 

On the night before Rang Panchami, bonfires (Holika) are lit on street

corners and people sing and dance, often to folk music. Green gram and

wheat are roasted on the bonfire and then eaten. This heralds Holi.

The day is also referred to as Parva. Abeer or gulal is thrown in the

air and smeared on faces, cloured water is squirted onto people from

pichkaris or water guns. Water balloons are thrown and in some cases,

mud baths are prepared for people to jump in to. Youngsters show

respect to elders by sprinkling colour on their feet. Gulal is also

sometimes smeared on the statues of Krishna and Radha.

 

Holi is the festival of colours and in true tradition, mothers make

new clothes for their married daughters. While people in the household

collect gulal (pink colour), pichkaris and water balloons, the menu is

specially designed in keeping with the spirit of the festival. Three

days before the full moon, Rang Pash, people visit each other and

formally sprinkle colour around. The eldest male member throws

coloured water and powder on each member of the family. Then the

younger ones express their love for each other by doing the same.

 

LEGEND OF THE FESTIVAL

 

Legends take us back to the demon king Hiranyakashipu, who craved for

absolute and ultimate power so that he could be worshipped as God.

However, his son, Prahalad, an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu, refused

to obey him. Prahalad's complete allegiance to Lord Vishnu angered the

king and he decided to punish his son severely. He approached Holika,

his sister, for help.

 

Holika was made to sit in the centre of a flaming pyre with Prahalad

in her lap. Supposedly, she was imperishable and therefore the king

thought that she would be safe while Prahalad would be destroyed.

However, exactly the opposite occurred. Prahalad emerged unscathed

from the fire, while Holika was reduced to ashes.

 

It is thus believed that Prahalad's devotion to Lord Vishnu saved him.

He conquered death, while Holika, the representative of evil, perished

into a heap of ashes.

 

Thus from Holika came Holi, and till today, people celebrate this

festival to mark the triumph of good over evil. In fact, the tradition

lives on as people light huge bonfires on the night before Holi.

Another legend connects Holi, in its present mould and spirit of

colourfulness to Krishna, the reincarnation of Lord Vishnu himself.

 

NATURAL COLOURS

 

For safe Holi we have natural colours which are little costlier but

cheaper than the health hazards that cheaper colours may cause.

 

Natural colours are made up different dry flowers, fruits and

vegetables (like black grapes, dried fruits of amla/gooseberry),

leaves (Eucalyptus), plants (Arandi/ Castor).

 

By using these safe, natural colours we not only preserve our skins

but also help save our environment and conserve our biodiversity. When

these colours are mixed with the soil and water they will not add

toxicity to them and thus will not harm the myriad life forms that

live in the soil and water. Pink, orange and blue are the colours

available in the market for Rs.15 per 100gm packet and for Rs.40 for a

pack of three different colours.

 

Yesterday, The Green Team of RODAS, the designer ecotel hotel at

Hiranandani Powai celebrated Holi using these naturally extracted

colours with 30 orphan children from Don Bosco School, Wadala.

Daniel Chatterton, Front Office Manager as well as The Green Team

Member of RODAS said, " The natural colours add more freedom to the

occasion as there is no fear of getting side affects. Every year we

celebrate Holi with the orphan children or children coming from poor

backgrounds. As our team's motive is to be eco-friendly, we have used

eco-friendly colours that have pleasant smell and that doesn't affect

the person using it neither the environment. These colours are the

smooth powders that do not hurt the skin and can be washed off very

easily. "

 

ABOUT OTHER COLOURS

 

Most Holi colours sold in the market are oxidized metals or industrial

dyes mixed with engine oil. Here are a few examples: the green comes

from copper sulphate, purple is chromium iodide, silver is aluminum

bromide, black is lead oxide and shiny colours are result of powdered

glass being added to the colours. All these are toxic and can result

in anything from skin allergies, eye irritation, blindness and much

more. When washed on to the open, these chemicals cause ruin to the

environment.

 

SOURCE: Cybernoon.com, Bombay. " Bura na mano, Holi hai! " BY A STAFF

REPORTER | Friday, March 02, 2007 8:40:6 IST

URL:

http://www.cybernoon.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=fromthepress & subsection=inbo\

mbay & xfile=March2007_inbombay_standard12293

TINY URL: http://tinyurl.com/yvgun3