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In places such as Vrindavan, or in Mathura,
where the Hindu god Krishna grew up, the
festival goes on for 16 days.
some regions begin the celebrations on
the eve of holi, others await the big day
itself. either way, bonfires are lit all over the
country, across the border in nepal and even
among the hindu diaspora in the uK to commemorate
the burning of the dreaded holika.
according to vaishnava theology, holika was
the daughter of demon-king hiranyakashipu.
father and daughter each possessed a bone
of brahma that was supposed to make them
immortal. The great demon railed against
heaven and earth, calling on mankind to no
longer revere their gods but to worship him
instead. his own son prahlada was a devotee
of vishnu, however. an attempt to poison
prahlada failed when the poison turned to
sweet nectar in his mouth. elephants were
supposed to trample him to death, yet he
survived uninjured. even the ravenous and
poisonous snakes with which he was locked
in a darkened room were unable to harm
him. since every attempt by hiranyakashipu
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to kill his son failed miserably, the demon
condemned him to sit on a bonfire on the lap
of his sister holika. (The latter was supposed
to be immune to harm from fire, courtesy of
the aforementioned bone.) prahlada bowed
to his father’s wish – but not before he had
asked vishnu for protection. when the fire
was lit, the astonished onlookers saw holika
consumed by the flames while prahlada survived
unharmed. The burning of holika is the
reason for the holi festival.
The orgiastic color bash has its origins in
a different legend. its purpose is to recall the
profound love between the god Krishna and
rhada. legend has it that Krishna bemoaned
the contrast between his own dark skin and
rhada’s light skin; whereupon Krishna’s
mother quickly decided to put a little color in
rhada’s cheeks, so to speak. This one simple
gesture has since evolved into an utterly
uninhibited ceremony in which, year for year,
at the end of the winter season, the entire
subcontinent is immersed in a bath of exhilarating
colors.