Holi is the time of year when winter makes room for the advent of spring. Holi falls in the month of phalgun (spring), that is February or March (in the Gregorian/English calendar) and is celebrated on the twelfth day that is usually a full moon day. Festivities begin almost fifteen days before Holi.It is also the time of season when gulmohurs, silk cottons and mango trees are in bloom adding color to this festival of colors. In some parts of India the red colored tesu flowers are soaked in water and the colored water is used for splashing one ach other during the celebration of Holi.

Places to visit during Holi
Although Holi is a popular festival celebrated all over India, there are places where the celebrations have a unique and interesting color. At Mathura and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh, Holi is celebrated with gaiety and fervor, as these are the places where Krishna is believed to have spent his childhood. The celebrations here are spread over a week with each temple dedicated to Radha and Krishna celebrating Holi on different days with lots of fun and merriment. In Bengal, Holi is called Dol Yatra, or the swing festival celebrated with placing the idols of Krishna and Radha on swings and devotees taking turns to swing them. Orissa has also the traditions similar to those of Bengal. However, here they place the idols of Jagannath (idol of the Jagannath Temple in Puri) in place of Krishna and Radha.In Manipur too, Holi is extremely interesting with a six -day festival commencing on the full moon day of Phalguna and marked by folk dances and devotional songs. Among the main cities in India, the capital city of Delhi and Mumbai and Kolkata are places where Holi is celebrated with colors, feasts, music, dance and parties.

To witness the most fascinating celebrations you should be in the village of Barsana, 42 km from Mathura.To relive the Radha –Krishna romance (with Radha hailing from Barsana and Krishna belonging to Nandagaon) the men from Nandagaon come to Barsana to celebrate Holi with the women in Barsana and is beaten with sticks instead of being splashed with colors. The next day, men of Barsana reciprocate by invading Nandagaon and the women of Nadagaon beat the invaders from Barsana. In this mock battle, the men try their best not to be captured for fear of being forcefully lead away, thrashed and dressed in female attire before being made to dance.

A large open ground, on the outskirts of the town, is specially set aside for the most magnificent display of the festivities with provisions for tourists to watch the spectacle. In Haryana, a human pyramid is formed to break the pot of buttermilk hung high up in the streets in honor of Krishna’s childhood pranks. In Maharashtra and Gujarat you also have people walking about the streets with a mock alert call that asks to take care of pots of butter and milk as Krishna comes in referring to Krishna’s habit of stealing buttermilk from the neighbourhood. The Basant Utsav in Shantiniketan introduced by Rabindranath Tagore will be an experience with the recital of songs, dance and hymns apart from the riot of colors.

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