In pictures: How India is celebrating the festival of colour Holi
Vibrant hues filled the air as millions of people across South Asia celebrated Holi, the Hindu festival of colour that signifies the arrival of spring in India.
Observed on the last full moon day of the Hindu luni-solar month of Falgun, Holi is marked by joyous gatherings, playful throwing of coloured powders, traditional music, dance, an abundance of sweets, and offering prayers to deities.
The origin of Holi is steeped in legends telling of the victory of righteousness over evil. The most popular story is that of demon king Hiranyakashipu and his son Prahlad. Hiranyakashipu, who was granted near-immortality by the gods, grew arrogant and demanded everyone worship him. However, Prahlad remained a devout follower of Lord Vishnu, defying his father’s command.
Infuriated, Hiranyakashipu plotted to kill Prahlad with the help of his sister Holika, who had a boon that made her immune to fire. Holika tricked Prahlad into sitting with her on a burning pyre, but her boon failed and she perished in the flames while Prahlad, protected by his unwavering devotion to Vishnu, emerged unscathed.
The story is commemorated through the ritual of Holika Dahan, which involves the lighting of bonfires on the eve of Holi to symbolise the destruction of evil.
Another popular myth associates Holi with the playful love story of Lord Krishna and his consort Radha. The legend goes that dark-skinned Krishna was envious of Radha’s fair complexion, so his mother playfully suggested he smear colours on Radha’s face to erase the difference. This legend is celebrated through the playful throwing of colours during Holi, symbolising love.
Northern India, particularly Uttar Pradesh state, celebrated the unique version of the festival called Lathmar Holi, which sees women playfully beat men with sticks and the men defend themselves with shields, re-enacting the legend of Krishna and Radha.
In the eastern state of West Bengal, Holi coincides with Basanta Utsav, a festival initiated by poet Rabindranath Tagore that celebrates spring with songs, dances, and cultural performances.
In Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, the two-day Masaan, or crematorium, Holi along the banks of the Ganges river attracts thousands of visitors from across India and beyond. During this unique celebration, devotees and ascetics apply ashes from funeral pyres to each other’s faces, honouring both the cycle of death and the Hindu god Shiva.
While Holi is known as the festival of joy and togetherness, many women have spoken out about harassment under the guise of playful colour-throwing. Incidents of groping, inappropriate touching, and verbal harassment have been reported, particularly in crowded public spaces.
A video shared by Indian actor Tushar Shukla showing men throwing colours and water at women while making lewd remarks sparked outrage on social media. “Today I went to play Holi in Barsana. Everything was great, it was fun,” he asks in the video. “But I have a question: do only girls go to play Holi in Barsana? Why are they directly targeted in such an indecent manner? Men also come, so why not engage with them?”
Kim Kardashian’s woe as India trip fails to live up to Aladdin dream
When Kim Kardashian traveled with her sister Khloé to India last July for the wedding of Anat Ambani, she’d assumed the experience would remind her of Disney’s Aladdin — but to her surprise, it didn’t.
In the most recent episode of The Kardashians on Hulu, cameras followed Kim and Khloé as they set off to Mumbai, India, on a quick 48-hour trip to celebrate the son of Mukesh Ambani, the wealthiest man in Asia, getting married to Radhika Merchant.
The two Los Angeles-based reality stars arrived in India for the first time at midnight. Before they went to sleep, Kim and Khloé did a fitting for their ceremonial looks, hoping to make the most of their short time overseas.
“We’re only here for 48 hours, and we do have a schedule,” Khloé explained in her confessional with the show’s producers. “We’re planning to go to some of the local markets before we have to go to the wedding so we can enjoy as much of India as possible.”
The 44-year-old Skims co-founder seconded her sister’s statement, noting how she wanted to “explore the city” too.
The pair would be disappointed though, as, according to Kim, they thought the markets they were visiting would be similar to those seen in the 1992 Disney animation, which is set in the fictional Middle Eastern city of Agrabah, not India.
“I thought it was going to be like the marketplace,” Kim said. “This is like the streets.”
“What you see Aladdin going through and stealing some bread from. This is where I thought we were going,” she added.
It wasn’t the only shock they were in for. The duo, who are used to being driven around L.A., were told they would be walking to the street sellers rather than being escorted by car or rickshaw.
The walk was less than pleasant for Kim, who was startled by everything around her, from the car horns to a stray dog.
“Oh! I don’t do random dogs!” she exclaimed, to which Khloé quipped: “At least there’s a Starbucks here.”
In her confessional, Khloé joked: “We’re not in Calabasas anymore.”
“There’s rickshaws going by, everyone was so surprised, like: ‘What the f*** are these people doing here?’” she added.
Kim described the setting of the street vendors as “mayhem.”
Online, viewers were appalled by Kim’s unrealistic expectations for what her time in India would look like, especially because the Disney picture is trying to depict an entirely different culture.
One commenter wrote: “Agrabah and Aladdin isn’t even based in India, it’s supposed to be the Middle East and is a fictionalized portrayal of Middle Eastern culture (or at least an attempt). They should have tried the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.”
“Spoiler: it wasn’t a magic carpet ride! Guess she was expecting more,” a second joked on X/Twitter.