The full
moon of Early March brings to northern India the festival of
Holi, when evening bonfires are lit to celebrate the
destruction of an evil king by Vishnu, appearing as the
ferocious lion-headed avatar Lord Narasimha, and the final
end of the king's wicked sister Holika, for whom the
festival was named.
Coincidentally
the Holi festival also commemorates the undying love of Lord
Krishna and Radha, and in those cities which have a
particular affiliation with Krishna, the festival goes on
for days.
When day breaks
the whole population plunges into an all morning
free-for-all in a kind of Indian Paintball, played with
powdered pigment and water. (The illustration shows colored
powder thrown by hand and by various
instruments.)
" Apart from
the usual fun with coloured powder and water, Holi is marked
by vibrant processions which are accompanied by folk songs,
dances and a general sense of abandoned vitality. Today Holi
is an excuse for Indians to shed inhibitions and caste
differences for a day of spring fever and Big Fun... the
music's great, and clouds of pink, green, and turquoise
powder fill the air." --Holi-
The Festival of Colors
The
Festival of Colors
King Hiranyakasipu, having been granted
wishes that he could not be killed by man nor beast nor by
anyone born, could not die by day or by night, nor struck
down by any weapon, then demanded that his followers worship
him instead of Lord Vishnu. His own son, the child Prahlada,
would not yield and remained loyal to Vishnu, so the
resentful and wicked king tried to put the child to death
but failed every attempt. At last the king's sister, Holika,
who was immune to flame, seized the boy and sat holding him
in a fire. But the prince was unhurt, while Holika was burnt
to a cinder.
