Clouds of color filled the air in Chennai with Holi celebrations

Pockets of Chennai was plunged in clouds of colour in the air, faces unrecognisable but for big smiles, frenzied dancing, and the sweetest of sweetmeats fed to each other everywhere.

Not only that the hugs and kisses, there were, and shouts and screams rent the air. The occasion was the Holi celebrations yesterday. And Chennai has a sizable North Indian population.

The Holi celebrations was mainly concentrated in Mint Street, George Town in general, Purasawalkam, Arihant Vaikund, Kellys, Anna Nagar, on the Beaches, Vepery and Egmore, where North Indians prominently live and congregate.

Children did what they do best -- played pranks by spraying coloured water with 'pichkaris' or waterguns and hurled water-filled balloons at passersby from the safety of rooftops and the balconies of their houses.

Youngsters were seen riding motorbikes, cars, throwing colours in the air and chanting 'Holi hai' and Holi ayie ray!

"Holi stands for friendship, coming togetherness.. It provides an opportunity for enemies to bury the hatchet. Sour feeling is written off. New friendship is sealed. Boys and girls, young and old celebrate Holi without any inhibition,'' said Dr. Rishi Tiwari who running a Stress Relief Centre in Egmore.

Bhawanesh Deora, a leading businessman and an NGO said amids his celebcrations, “Holi signifys the conquering of sin and evil. A time for colour, sweets and friendship.”

The significance of Holi

It is the Spring Festival of India, a festival of colors. Celebrated in March or April according to the Hindu calendar, it was meant to welcome the spring and win the blessings of Gods for good harvests and fertility of the land.

As with all the Hindu festivals, there are many interesting legends attached to Holi, the most popular being that of Prince Prahlad, who was a devout follower of Lord Vishnu. It is the second most important festival of India after Diwali. Holi in India is a festival of fun and frolic and has been associated with the immortal love of Krishna and Radha. The exuberance and the festivity of the season are remarkable.

Unlike all the other festivals of India, Hindu Holi festival is one such festival where one can put down the social taboos and indulge in the intoxicating drinks and sweets prepared by using opium. It is a festival of romance often represented by the love-play of Radha and Krishna. Brij Holi is famous all over the world for its gaiety in spirit. Each year, young and old, men and women, all indulge themselves in the spirit of colors and for once forget the social taboos.

There are mouthwatering delicacies to savor such as 'Gujhias' and 'Papris' and there are interesting traditions and customs of Holi that have their own regional variances. We will also talk about making natural and healthy colors and safety precautions that one must take to enjoy Holi.

The legend of Prahlad and Hiranyakshyap says there once lived a devil and powerful king, Hiranyakshyap who considered himself a god and wanted everybody to worship him. To his great ire, his son, Prahlad began to worship, Lord Vishnu. To get rid of his son, Hiranyakshyap asked his sister, Holika to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad in her lap, as she had a boon to enter fire unscathed. Legend has it that Prahlad was saved for his extreme devotion for the lord while Holika paid a price for her sinister desire. The tradition of burning Holika or the 'Holika dahan' comes mainly from this legend.

Holi also celebrates the legend of Radha and Krishna which describes the extreme delight, Krishna took in applying colour on Radha and other gopis. This prank of Krishna later, became a trend and a part of the Holi festivities.

Mythology also states that Holi is the celebration of death of Ogress Pootana who tried to kill infant, Krishna by feeding poisonous milk to it.

Another legend of Holi which is extremely popular in Southern India is that of Lord Shiva and Kaamadeva. According to the legend, people in south celebrate the sacrifice of Lord of Passion Kaamadeva who risked his life to revoke Lord Shiva from meditation and save the world.

Also, popular is the legend of Ogress Dhundhi who used to trouble children in the kingdom of Raghu and was ultimately chased away by the pranks of the children on the day of Holi. Showing their belief in the legend, children till date play pranks and hurl abuses at the time of Holika Dahan.

Celebration of the various legends associated with Holi reassure the people of the power of the truth as the moral of all these legends is the ultimate victory of good over evil. The legend of Hiranyakashyap and Prahlad also points to the fact that extreme devotion to god pays as god always takes his true devotee in his shelter.

All these legends help the people to follow a good conduct in their lives and believe in the virtue of being truthful. This is extremely important in the modern day society when so many people resort to evil practices for small gains and torture one who is honest. Holi helps the people to believe in the virtue of being truthful and honest and also to fight away the evil.

Besides, holi is celebrated at a time of the year when the fields are in full bloom and people are expecting a good harvest. This gives a people a good reason to rejoice, make merry and submerge themselves in the spirit of Holi.

The religious significance of the festival of Holi is to mark the burning of self-conceit, selfishness, greed, lust, hatred, in fact all the undesirable demoniac tendencies, propensities, thoughts and behaviours. The victory of righteous forces over demoniacal forces.

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- Asian Tribune -