In Hinduism, Holi (also called Holaka or Phagwa) is an annual festival celebrated on the day after the full moon in the Hindu month of Phalguna (March). It celebrates spring, commemorates various events in Hindu mythology and is a time of disregarding social norms and indulging in general merrymaking. Holi celebrations start on the night before Holi with a Holika bonfire where people gather, do religious rituals in front of the bonfire, and pray that their internal evil should be destroyed as the bonfire starts. The next morning is celebrated as Rangwali Holi – a free-for-all carnival of colors where participants play, chase and colour each other with dry powder and coloured water, with some carrying water guns and coloured water-filled balloons for their water fight. Anyone and everyone is fair game, friend or stranger, rich or poor, man or woman, children and elders. The frolic and fight with colours occurs in the open streets, open parks, outside temples and buildings. People visit family, friends and foes to throw coloured powders on each other, laugh and gossip, then share Holi delicacies, food and drinks.
I can virtually promise you that any image of Holi celebration you have ever seen was of a sanitized Western version offered as a paid activity for tourists. Other than being colorful it bears little resemblance to the holiday celebrated in the streets. I shot the image above on a decorated tennis court outside a large hotel for tourists.
What follows is my best effort to capture the festival as it is celebrated by the locals. I have classified the participants into several groups and labeled them accordingly. The danger scale is relative to the probability of my cameras being damaged.
The marauding teenage male. Dangerous but mostly to each other. They run through the streets looking for other similar groups to attack. Frequently armed with aerosol propelled paints.
The inebriated adult male. A danger to all. Intent on coloring anyone in their sights. Best avoided entirely.
The peaceful adult. Looking for any opportunity to greet friends or strangers with kindness and a dash of color. Holy at its best.
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The motorcycle contingent. Always on the the move.
The adolescent female. The most dangerous group of all by a long shot. They lurk in alleys and on rooftops. Armed with water balloons and long range squirt sticks you can be hit before you know it. If you breathe and/or move you are a target. Their aim is unforgiving. They are relentless and merciless. I don’t have many pictures of this group because I would turn and run at the first sign of one.
The soloists.
It is entirely impossible to photograph Holi without becoming a target. If I had to do it again I would have used a waterproof camera. That said, I did my best to protect my cameras while being “greeted”/attacked and managed to escape without any damage to speak of.
