Me Lilla Festival

Paul McIndoe asked:


  A common misconception with regard to the ‘Edinburgh Festival’ is that the festival is simply one large event, under one name. However, the Edinburgh Festival is, in fact, comprised of many different festivals - ranging from the Jazz and Blues Festival and the International Festival, to perhaps the most famous of the events - the Festival Fringe. Festival-goers have a range of events to pick from when visiting Scotland’s capital city during the summer months.

Another thing to keep in mind is that while the majority of the events within the Edinburgh Festival take place during August of each year, some festivals begin much earlier, while others run well into September. So, it’s important to do a bit of research regarding the festivals you’re interested in, taking special note of when each event is being held.

One of the earliest festivals under the ‘Edinburgh Festival’ umbrella is the International Film Festival. Running in June of each year, the Film Festival draws thousands of film fans to experience some of the industry’s freshest works.

The Edinburgh International Film Festival is the world’s oldest continually-running film festival, having started in 1947. The event is famous for hosting initial screenings of renowned blockbusters such as Steven Spielberg’s ET and a number of Woody Allen Films, and continues to run a wide programme with international premieres and retrospectives.

Another recently added feature of the Film Festival includes a film study section - called ‘Scene by Scene’ - which has hosted celebrities such as Steve Martin and the Coen Brothers. The event is now viewed as on-par with the world-famous film festivals held in Cannes and Berlin and the diversity of the festival ensures that there is something for everyone to enjoy - this is especially true if you consider yourself to be somewhat of a film fanatic. The 2009 Edinburgh Film Festival will run from June 17 - 28.

If you’re planning to attend the International Film Festival - or any of the other events for that matter - then you’ll want to ensure you make travel and hotel arrangements well in advance. Some half a million visitors flock to the city each summer for the festival events, making it more difficult to secure flights to Edinburgh - and hotel reservations - at a reasonable date.

So, it can be worthwhile planning in advance for your summer trip this year, especially if you want to experience one of the most world-renowned arts attractions.

Ki Gray asked:


What do music, chili peppers, bamboo, wine, watermelon, ice cream and Eeyore the donkey from Winnie the Pooh have in common?

They all have festivals devoted to them in Austin or nearby towns. In fact, there are so many festivals of all kinds in the Austin area that it is difficult to keep track of them. The Austin American-Statesman apparently gave up trying to keep count back in 2004, judging by a recent visit to the festivals page on their current website a quick count there reveals there were more than 50 festivals in existence then, and the compilers of the list noted that those were just some of the festivals.

Other festivals have appeared since then. The first-ever Pachanga Latino Music Festival, for instance, was held on May 31st of this year. The second annual Ice Cream Festival will take place on August 9.

Of course, everyone knows about the Austin City Limits Music Festival and the South by Southwest Conferences and Festivals. Those events feature what Austin has become known for around the world; great live music. Tens of thousands of music lovers flock to these events to see the international, national and regional acts that they showcase. These events bring in huge amounts of money to the Austin economy. In fact, SXSW is Austin’s highest money-making public event, as reported by Wikipedia.

There are many more music festivals in the Austin area as well. The Old Settler’s Reunion in nearby Driftwood, Texas attracts some of the premier national bluegrass and Americana acts, as well as many of the best regional Texas music groups and songwriters. This festival happens every April and attracts thousands of music fans to the beautiful grounds at the Salt Lick Pavilion and Camp Ben McCulloch.

The Reggae Festival, also in April, and the Austin Celtic Festival in November are just two more of the events held in Austin that feature music as their main raison d’etre. Of course, many other festivals include music in their programs as well. Some of these include Viva Cinco de Mayo in late April/early May, the Austin Fine Arts Festival, at the beginning of April, and the Old Pecan Street Fall Arts Festival in late September.

This latter event began more than 30 years ago to provide family friendly, free admission venue to collect arts and crafts from local and national artists and artisans, experience live music, theater plays, comedy, magic, poetry, film, parades, and take part of a long standing Austin tradition. More than 300,000 people attend this event every year, and festival promoters estimate it generates more than $43 million for the local economy.

Another long-standing, grass-roots festival is Eeyore’s Birthday Party which occurs every year in late April at Pease Park. According to Austin American-Statesman writer Anita Powell. The party has grown considerably since its inception in 1963 by a group of University of Texas students. The free-spirited celebration usually features Maypole dancing, costume contests, a hippie queen pageant, food, birthday cake and entertainment by local bands. This festival, perhaps more than any other, reflects the spirit that Austin is famous (or infamous) for and that inspired the unofficial slogan for the city: “keep Austin weird”.

What about bamboo, wine, watermelon and chili peppers? The Bamboo Festival is presented at Zilker Botanical Gardens in late August every year and features “all things bamboo”. There are at least two important wine festivals in the area: the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival in early April and the Austin Wine Festival in late May. The Chili Pepper Fiesta is held in the town of Elgin, just east of Austin, on the second Saturday in September. The Luling Watermelon Thump in June garners national attention every year with its watermelon seed spitting contest.

All these festivals reflect what the city of Austin has been about through most of its history. It fosters and encourages creativity, diversity, freedom of expression and the celebration of the hard work and enterprise of its citizens.

Prof. (Dr.) Ashiq Hussain asked:


ng>HOLI - THE FESTIVAL O COLOURS   Holi is one of the major festival of the vast country, called India. No wonder, a number of traditions, customs and festivals have cropped up around this very important festival.   As the culture and language changes from one state to the other, nature, significance and the way these festivals related to Holi are celebrated also varies a lot. While in the state of Rajasthan women take the lead, men in Punjab have grabbed the festival as an opportunity to display their bravery and dare-devil skills. On the other hand, quiet and peace loving people of West Bengal celebrate the occasion in a dignified and charming fashion.   As the brief spring warms the landscape, northern India cuts loose for a day of hijinx and general hilarity. The festival of Holi is celebrated on the day after the full moon in early March every year. Holi festival may be celebrated with various names and people of different states might be following different traditions. But, what makes Holi so unique and special is the spirit of it which remains the same throughout the country and even across the globe, wherever it is celebrated.   Originally a festival to celebrate good harvests and fertility of the land, Holi is now a symbolic commemoration of a legend from Hindu Mythology. The story centers around an arrogant king who resents his son Prahlada worshipping Lord Vishnu. Holi commemorates this event from mythology, and huge bonfires are burnt on the eve of Holi as its symbolic representation. This exuberant festival is also associated with the immortal love of Krishna and Radha.   Holi is an ancient festival of India and was originally known as ‘Holika’. The festivals finds a detailed description in early religious works such as Jaimini’s Purvamimamsa-Sutras and Kathaka-Grhya-Sutras. Historians also believe that Holi was celebrated by all Aryans but more so in the Eastern part of India. It is said that Holi existed several centuries before Christ. However, the meaning of the festival is believed to have changed over the years. Earlier it was a special rite performed by married women for the happiness and well-being of their families and the full moon (Raka) was worshiped. Holi  is now a days recognized as  one of the oldest Hindu festivals. Its reference can be found in religious scriptures and sculptures on walls of old temples. There are paintings, which show royal couple sitting on grand swing and maidens playing music and spraying colors on them. Whatever the scene and the theme, colors and mythology have always been an important part of these Holi depictions. However the most important myths and stories that have been associated with Holi are given below:   Story Of Radha and Krishna:    Lord Krishna was dark while his spiritual love-mate Radha had fair-complexion. So child Krishna often used to complain about the injustice of nature towards him to his mother Yashoda and would ask her the reason. One day, Yashoda suggested Krishna to apply color on Radha’s face and changeher complexion in any color he desired. The naughty Krisha immediately set off to his mission and one can often see paintings and murals depicting Krishna throwing colors on Radha and other ‘gopis’. This lovable prank of throwing colored powder and water jets called ‘pichkaris’ soon gained favor with the people and it evolved into the tradition of Holi. This is the reason that people often carry images of Krishna and Radha through the streets. The Holi of Mathura region, where Krishna was born, has a special fervor.   Story of Dhundhi:   It was there was an ogress called Dhundi who used to scare and trouble children in the kingdom of Prithu. She has many boons, which made her almost invincible but due to a curse from Lord Shiva, she was susceptible to the shots, abuses and pranks of village boys. It is believed that on Holi day, these children united and made combined efforts to chase away Dhundi by shouting at her, abusing her and playing pranks on her and finally succeeded in their mission. This is the reason that young boys are allowed to use rude words on this day without anybody taking offence.   Story Of Holika and Prahlad:   There was a demon-king named Hiranyakashipu who won over the kingdom of earth and ordered everybody to worship him and not the God. However, his little son Prahlad refused to do so and continued to worship the almighty Lord Vishnu, the Hindu God. He tried many times to kill him but Lord Vishnu saved him every time. One of the sisters of the king named Holika had powers to walk through fire unharmed. Thus he ordered her to kill Prahlad by walking through the fire with him. However, Lord Vishnu came to his help and Prahlad was saved while Holika perished. Somehow, she didn’t knew that her powers were only effective if she entered the fire alone. Even today, bonfires are lit on the night of Holi in memory of the event and burning of the wicked aunt Holika.   Story Of Kamadeva:   After the death of his consort Sati, Lord Shiva was so shocked and hurt that he went into a deep meditation and stopped looking after his worldly responsibilities. This led to many complications in the world’s affairs. Thus, gods conspired to bring him out of his trance with the help of Goddess Parvati, who wished to marry the great lord and Kamadeva, the God of love, passion and lust. Though, mindful of the consequences, Kamadeva undertook the task for the world’s good and shot one of his love arrows on the great Lord who had mastered all the worldly temptations. As Shiva’s eyes opened, he was furious by the trick of Kamdeva and directed the wrath of his third eye on him and burned him on the spot. However, later he did give him an immortal life. It is believed that Lord Shiva burned Kamadeva on the day of Holi and thus, many people worship him for his sacrifice and offer him a mango blossoms that he loved and sandalwood paste to cool off the pain of his fatal burns.   Rituals preparations of  Holi   Rituals of the ancient festival of Holi are religiously followed every year with care and enthusiasm. Days before the festival people start gathering wood for the lighting of the bonfire called Holika at the major crossroads of the city. This ensures that at the time of the actual celebration a huge pile of wood is collected.   Holika Dahan Celebrations   Then on the eve of Holi, Holika Dahan takes place. Effigy of Holika, the devil minded sister of demon King Hiranyakashyap is placed in the wood and burnt. For, Holika tried to kill Hiranyakashyap’s son Prahlad, an ardent devotee of Lord Naarayana. The ritual symbolises the victory of good over evil and also the triumph of a true devotee.   Children also hurl abuses at Holika and pray pranks, as if they still try to chase away Dhundhi who once troubled little ones in the Kingdom of Prithu. Some people also take embers from the fire to their homes to rekindle their own domestic fires.   Play of Colors   Next day, is of course the main day of Holi celebrations. The day is called Dhuleti and it is on this day that the actual play of colours take place. There is no tradition of holding puja and is meant for pure enjoyment. The tradition of playing colours is particularly rampant in north India and even in that region, there can be no comparison to the Holi of Mathura and Vrindavan. In Maharashtra and Gujarat too Holi is celebrated with lot of enthusiasm and fun. People take extreme delight in spraying colour water on each other with pichkaris or pouring buckets and buckets of it. Singing Bollywood Holi numbers and dancing on the beat of dholak is also a part of the tradition. Amidst all this activity people relish gujiya, mathri, malpuas and other traditional Holi delicacies with great joy.   Drinks, especially thandai laced with bhang are also an intrinsic part of the Holi festivity. Bhang helps to further enhance the spirit of the occasion but if taken in excess it might dampen it also. So caution should be taken while consuming it.   Holi Celebrations in South India   In south India, however, people follow the tradition of worshiping Kaamadeva, the love god of Indian mythology. People have faith in the legend which speaks about the great sacrifice of Kaamadeva when he shot his love arrow on Lord Shiva to break his meditation and evoke his interest in worldly affairs. After, an eventful and fun filled day people become a little sober in the evening and greet friends and relatives by visiting them and exchange sweets. Holi special get togethers are also organized by various cultural organizations to generate harmony and brotherhood in the society.   Any how in all where HOLI HAI… Come holi and the streets will reverberate with the chants of Holi hai…Colours will fill the atmosphere as people throw abeer and gulal in the air showing great joy and mirth in the arrival of this Spring Festival. Days before Holi, the markets get flooded with the colours of every hues. This aptly sets the mood of the people till the actual day of Holi. It is such a colourful and joyous sight to watch huge piles of bright red, magenta, pink, green and blue every where on the streets. Buying those colours seems as you are bringing joys and colour to your home and into your life. Children take special delight in the festival and demand every colour in loads. They have so many plans in their mind. They have to be the first to apply colour to Mama, Papa, siblings and a big bunch of friends in their colony. Nobody could miss being coloured by them and of course, they need colour for that. These days it is easy to buy colours from the market but still some people do take up the task of making colours at home, usually from flowers of tesu and palash. These home made colours, have a special fragrance of love in them. The other option is to buy gulal which comes in bright shades of pink, magenta, red, yellow and green. ‘Abeer’ is made of small crystals or paper like chips of mica. This is mixed with the gulal for a rich shine. Mischievous ones, however, go for silver and gold paints on which no colour could be applied. Whatever be the choice of colour, nobody remains in their original texture at the end of the play. And everybody takes delight looking at the other. Really, the other name of the festival is FUN.  And, it is not just children, but the young and the old alike who take delight in this joyous festival of colours. Seniors too, move in their tolis. Their enthusiasm is at times greater than that of their children as they forget the bars of age and follow their hearts. To youth, holi gives a chance to explore the heights of their enthusiasm as they climb the human pyramids to break the pot of buttermilk and to express their love to their beloved by applying colour. For, Holi knows no bars, everybody feels it is their right to enjoy and enjoy they do. Songs, dance, drinks, food everything goes in excess when it is time for Holi. It can be said, "Life turns Colourful" when it is time for Holi.   Today Holi is an excuse for Indians to shed inhibitions and caste differences for a day of spring fever and Big Fun. Teenagers spend the day flirting and misbehaving in the streets, quite often adults males are seen to grab an opportunity to spark colour on girls. Thus the holy message of the festival is charred with the natural flavour.   It’s a festival of gaiety but then there are few who make this festival, a festival of evil. They do this by infuriating the strangers by forcefully throwing colours on them; some use colours that are difficult to remove and unsafe for skin and health. Many take it as a day of drinking alcohol but we should not forget that Holi is a festival of triumph of good over evil. We must try to wash away all the evils in our hearts along with the colours and allow the colour of love to stay there forever and ever. This is the true spirit of Holi.   Dr. Ashiq Hussain                                                                                                                                                                                              Govt Degree College Kishtwar                                                      Email. drashiqhussain@rediffmail.com,   drashiqhussain@gmail.com

Samantha Gilmartin asked:


A variety of explanations have been put forward including the traditional Glastonbury mud-bath caused by repeated bad weather, the festivals uncharacteristically lack lustre 2008 line-up, the sharp rise in British festivalgoers defecting to European festivals and the surge in smaller, more intimate festivals popping up across the UK.

It is certainly possible that repeated bad weather could be to blame for Glastonbury’s dip in popularity but it seems highly unlikely. The mud is, in my opinion, an accepted part of the festivals appeal. In previous years the BBC’s advertising for the festival has even featured mud streaked revellers cavorting in puddles of grime. The festival has always had a strong link with the muddy, carefree “back to nature” vibe and to blame this for a downturn in ticket sales seems odd to say the least. It is far more likely that the festivals problems come from far closer to home.

A truly disappointing line-up headlined by U.S rapper Jay-Z and a heavy reliance on bands very much in the now rather than those with a wide-reaching appeal is far more likely to have impacted ticket sales than the public’s fear of mud. In previous years acts like The Who, Bjork and Oasis drew in a mixed crowd but this years decidedly trendy line-up may have left a good portion of the festivals older regulars slightly alienated. The controversial choice of a rap act as the headliner at what is widely considered to be a rock festival may have also negatively effected ticket sales.

A factor often looked over when trying to figure out why ticket sales have been so slow this year is Glastonbury’s pre-registration system. Unlike other festivals where tickets are easily available through online booking engines and telephone lines, Glastonbury demands people who want a ticket register with them. Registration requires a passport photograph and personal information.

This process was implemented largely to prevent ticket touting and for that it should be commended. The astronomical prices demanded for festival tickets on eBay is reason enough for any fair-minded organiser to investigate ways to prevent unscrupulous individuals profiting from a event which is heavily charity focussed. With this kept in mind it is understandable that Glastonbury organisers felt the need to do something but the clunky pre-registration process and the demand for a passport photograph is enough to put many potential festival fans off. The Orwellian undertone caused by the festival collecting such personal information from its attendees is only heightened by the presence of police surveillance cameras, dampening the free and easy atmosphere.

Perhaps the biggest threat to Glastonbury is the rapid rise of the small UK festival, often called a “boutique festival”. The small UK festival used to be the reserve of the painfully cool, a small gathering of like-minded people enjoying niche bands that were of no threat to giants like Glastonbury. In the past few years these small festivals have grown in number, stepped into the media spotlight and gathered an impressive band of devotees which in turn allowed organisers to spend more money and increase the standard of the facilities and the acts.

The massive choice of small festivals has allowed music fans to find a festival which has the particular line up they will enjoy. Festivals like Kent’s Lounge on the Farm offer an eclectic mix of small bands, typically the sort of acts with a large online following but little presence in the charts. The Isle of Wight’s Bestival offers a similar lineup featuring many of the same bands as Lounge on the Farm but with some big names with wide appeal such as 80s legends Gary Numan and the Human League thrown into the mix. It is this eclectic mix that Glastonbury seems to have forgotten.

Anyone who has been to a large festival in the UK recently has probably noticed the rampant commercialisation of outdoor music events. The choice of music is leaning more and more towards whatever band is enjoying favour in the charts and as the festivals gain sponsorship and expand they loose the intimacy and gain vast amounts of advertising. The few weekends a year the British public gets to spend in the sunshine enjoying live music is not the place for shameless advertising campaigns. That place is after Coronation Street.

Having attended both major festivals and their smaller, more civilised cousins I for one am a happy convert to the boutique festival. Cheaper, smaller and with increasingly pleasing headliners they are the future of the UK music festival scene.

Denis tyler asked:


Festival cards are a great way of expressing your emotions and feelings associated with certain festivals to family and friends. Saying it with a card makes it all the memorable and precious to the person who receives this. Each festival has its own special festival cards and this can be easily obtained too. Have you ever considered giving personalized festival cards to your family and friends? Well if your answer is no, then you must start thinking of this alternative as well and start putting up your own personal touch to the Festival Cards. Buying festival cards from the nearest gift shop is something which almost everyone does and sending cards via the internet is also something which is not very likes by some people. So sending festival cards is one option which people can choose from.

Sending festival cards is very easy and one just needs to make sure that they are dealing with the right people to get the work done. There are a number of online sites that provide visitors with the chance to shore their pictures, get the pictures printed in different types of merchandise like cup, T shirt and others and make customized festival cards. Sharing pictures online is a great source to stay connected with family and friends who stay with you. Giving someone a gift which contains a personal message is something that they like to receive at anytime. So you now need to focus on how you can give personalized festival cards to all your near and dear ones. After all festivals are that time of the year when you remember all those people who are close to you.

First you need to decide on which festival you want to send the festival cards to your family or friends. There are plenty of festivals but it will be better to choose a festival that your family or friend actually celebrates. Well it will be of no use to send a Christmas card if that person does not celebrate Christmas at all. So you have to be careful in choosing festivals and avoid mistakes. You can place an order to make the festival cards by choosing a picture that depicts a message communicated by the festival. That is not all you can also put a picture which you have taken with your personal camera for the card. You can also choose one picture from the collection available with the site. You just need to make a good choice for this.

After choosing the picture, you can put personalized message on the card. This is the perfect medium where you can give a free rein to your creativity as well. You can incorporate various colors and designs to give the card your own personal and distinct touch. After incorporating all messages, colors and pictures that you want to incorporate in the card, you can get this printed. The card is ready now ready, all you need to do now is send that to people who are special in your life.

Jolana Klobouk asked:


Summer festivals are the Canadian way of celebrating the season and truly enjoying the best of the glorious sunshine and all round good cheer. Across Canada, summer festivals add an air of festivity with a wide range of entertainments and exciting events.

The Fringe Festival represents the spirit of summer festivals in Canada. This is where anyone can perform and get away with appreciation. These perform or perish events grant the performers one whole minute to win the audience or retreat. Events include dance, music, comedy shows, drama, musicals, theatre and more. Audience can use the festival guide to help decide what to watch from the literally hundreds on show. Fringe Festivals can be found in cities including Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Victoria, Ottawa, London and many more.

Canada’s summer festivals celebrate music like none other. The Cisco Systems Bluesfest in Ottawa, Ontario is a perfect example. Anything from Cuban music to jam bands can be expected at this extremely exhilarating music fest. To add to the melee there are the side shows and the overall festival atmosphere.

Here’s one for the funny bone. Canada’s summer festival celebration sets great store by comedy shows. The Funnyfest Comedy Festival in Calgary, Alberta is where the good humor spreads good vibes all around. Hilarious comedy shows, stand up comics that make you double over, and plenty of laughing matter is on for about 16 nights incorporating over a hundred performers. It’s a punch line a minute attack that will have you ROFL.

Montreal of course has the Just for Laughs Festival and the Giggleshots-International Comedy Short Film Festival in Toronto is the largest of its kind in the world and everything you’ve heard about it is true. This major event is now all set to be staged in the UK.

The Canada Dance Festival in Ottawa began in 1987 and is growing stronger by the year. It is now the primary showcase for professional dancers to strut their stuff. Get ready to witness an awesome range of performances that will have you entranced. The Toronto International Tango Festival is another venue where dancers from all over the world come to stage their passion for tango.

Folk Festivals are held as part of summer festivals in Canada in Ottawa, Calgary, Winnipeg, and Edmonton among other places. All sorts of music from all over the world including Celtic, aboriginal, country, swing, and anything else you can think of are performed with gusto, and uninterrupted for four days.

No celebration can be complete without wine and beer. Canada’s summer festivals celebrate this in style at the Great Canadian Beer Festival in Victoria, BC. Contrary to conclusions one may jump to, this is not a drink all you can fest but rather an upmarket venture where the quality of the beer has to be irreproachable as does the integrity of the brewer. It’s more a celebration of the craft of beer brewing and its artistic aspect. The Niagara Wine Festival is a magnet that draws visitors in their thousands to the area. It runs in a series including the Ice-wine Festival, the New Vintage Festival, and finally the Niagara Wine Festival.

Sumit Singh asked:


Come and celebrate the flavors of Indian cultures and traditions! The festival tours in India are best to take up to experience colorful festivities, whose roots lie deep in the age-old traditions and customs of India. The celebrations of the special occasions here can be said to be a mirror reflection of the beliefs and faith of the locals of India, which they are following since such a long time.

On a tour to India, if you really wish to know the real India, then a festival tour is must for you. The festival tours in India cover regions in north, south, east and west. Each region has something distinct to offer to its onlookers. It is up to you which region you would like to explore first. However, some of the special festivals in India, which are celebrated at a large scale and a delightful sight to witness, are Diwali, Pushkar Camel Fair, Snake Boat Race on Onam, Dussehra Festival and many more.

However, before embarking on festival tours in India, if you want to know little bit about some of the special ones, then glance through the following.

Diwali

 

Known as the festival of lights, Diwali is observed in every part of India at a large scale. There are many beliefs associated with the celebration of this colorful event. However, as far as celebration is concerned, you will discover that during this festival people light every corner of their homes and burst firecrackers.

Pushkar Camel Fair

 

This is one of the famous festivals in India. Tourists in large number arrive here to witness the revelry of this particular festival. This is an important cattle and religious fair celebrated once in every year. During the festivities of this event, you will come across numerous stalls of handicrafts and traditional items. Dance and music also forms the major attraction of this event.

Snake Boat Race on Onam

 

Water parades and snake boat race are the highlights of this festival in south. This event is celebrated in connection with the harvest festival of the region known as Onam.

Dussehra Festival

 

The festival of Dussehra has religious as well as moral connotations. This event is observed to signify the triumph of good over evil. During this festival, three large effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarana and Meghnad, the three mythical demon characters, are burnt by a young kid attired as Lord Rama, the famous Hindu god.

Teej Festival

 

The Teej festival in India is celebrated mainly by the married women. On this day, the women offer prayers to the Hindu goddess Parvati in order to receive blessings for their husbands’ well being and long life. Colorful attires, dance and music form the major attractions of this event.

Khajuraho Dance Festival

 

In the backdrop of the Khajuraho temples, the Khajuraho Dance Festival is the celebration of Indian dance heritage and culture. The festival is organized in the month of February or March. This festival represents different dance forms of India including Bharat Natyam, Kathak, Kathakali, Odissi, Kuchipudi and Manipuri.

 

 

Prof. (Dr.) Ashiq Hussain asked:


HOLI - THE FESTIVAL O COLOURS

 

Holi is one of the major festival of the vast country, called India. No wonder, a number of traditions, customs and festivals have cropped up around this very important festival.

As the culture and language changes from one state to the other, nature, significance and the way these festivals related to Holi are celebrated also varies a lot. While in the state of Rajasthan women take the lead, men in Punjab have grabbed the festival as an opportunity to display their bravery and dare-devil skills. On the other hand, quiet and peace loving people of West Bengal celebrate the occasion in a dignified and charming fashion.

As the brief spring warms the landscape, northern India cuts loose for a day of hijinx and general hilarity. The festival of Holi is celebrated on the day after the full moon in early March every year. Holi festival may be celebrated with various names and people of different states might be following different traditions. But, what makes Holi so unique and special is the spirit of it which remains the same throughout the country and even across the globe, wherever it is celebrated.

Originally a festival to celebrate good harvests and fertility of the land, Holi is now a symbolic commemoration of a legend from Hindu Mythology. The story centers around an arrogant king who resents his son Prahlada worshipping Lord Vishnu. Holi commemorates this event from mythology, and huge bonfires are burnt on the eve of Holi as its symbolic representation. This exuberant festival is also associated with the immortal love of Krishna and Radha.

Holi is an ancient festival of India and was originally known as ‘Holika’. The festivals finds a detailed description in early religious works such as Jaimini’s Purvamimamsa-Sutras and Kathaka-Grhya-Sutras. Historians also believe that Holi was celebrated by all Aryans but more so in the Eastern part of India. It is said that Holi existed several centuries before Christ. However, the meaning of the festival is believed to have changed over the years. Earlier it was a special rite performed by married women for the happiness and well-being of their families and the full moon (Raka) was worshiped. Holi  is now a days recognized as  one of the oldest Hindu festivals. Its reference can be found in religious scriptures and sculptures on walls of old temples. There are paintings, which show royal couple sitting on grand swing and maidens playing music and spraying colors on them. Whatever the scene and the theme, colors and mythology have always been an important part of these Holi depictions. However the most important myths and stories that have been associated with Holi are given below:

Story Of Radha and Krishna:

 Lord Krishna was dark while his spiritual love-mate Radha had fair-complexion. So child Krishna often used to complain about the injustice of nature towards him to his mother Yashoda and would ask her the reason. One day, Yashoda suggested Krishna to apply color on Radha’s face and changeher complexion in any color he desired. The naughty Krisha immediately set off to his mission and one can often see paintings and murals depicting Krishna throwing colors on Radha and other ‘gopis’. This lovable prank of throwing colored powder and water jets called ‘pichkaris’ soon gained favor with the people and it evolved into the tradition of Holi. This is the reason that people often carry images of Krishna and Radha through the streets. The Holi of Mathura region, where Krishna was born, has a special fervor.

Story of Dhundhi:

It was there was an ogress called Dhundi who used to scare and trouble children in the kingdom of Prithu. She has many boons, which made her almost invincible but due to a curse from Lord Shiva, she was susceptible to the shots, abuses and pranks of village boys. It is believed that on Holi day, these children united and made combined efforts to chase away Dhundi by shouting at her, abusing her and playing pranks on her and finally succeeded in their mission. This is the reason that young boys are allowed to use rude words on this day without anybody taking offence.

Story Of Holika and Prahlad:

There was a demon-king named Hiranyakashipu who won over the kingdom of earth and ordered everybody to worship him and not the God. However, his little son Prahlad refused to do so and continued to worship the almighty Lord Vishnu, the Hindu God. He tried many times to kill him but Lord Vishnu saved him every time. One of the sisters of the king named Holika had powers to walk through fire unharmed. Thus he ordered her to kill Prahlad by walking through the fire with him. However, Lord Vishnu came to his help and Prahlad was saved while Holika perished. Somehow, she didn’t knew that her powers were only effective if she entered the fire alone. Even today, bonfires are lit on the night of Holi in memory of the event and burning of the wicked aunt Holika.

Story Of Kamadeva:

After the death of his consort Sati, Lord Shiva was so shocked and hurt that he went into a deep meditation and stopped looking after his worldly responsibilities. This led to many complications in the world’s affairs. Thus, gods conspired to bring him out of his trance with the help of Goddess Parvati, who wished to marry the great lord and Kamadeva, the God of love, passion and lust. Though, mindful of the consequences, Kamadeva undertook the task for the world’s good and shot one of his love arrows on the great Lord who had mastered all the worldly temptations. As Shiva’s eyes opened, he was furious by the trick of Kamdeva and directed the wrath of his third eye on him and burned him on the spot. However, later he did give him an immortal life. It is believed that Lord Shiva burned Kamadeva on the day of Holi and thus, many people worship him for his sacrifice and offer him a mango blossoms that he loved and sandalwood paste to cool off the pain of his fatal burns.

Rituals preparations of  Holi

Rituals of the ancient festival of Holi are religiously followed every year with care and enthusiasm. Days before the festival people start gathering wood for the lighting of the bonfire called Holika at the major crossroads of the city. This ensures that at the time of the actual celebration a huge pile of wood is collected.

Holika Dahan Celebrations

Then on the eve of Holi, Holika Dahan takes place. Effigy of Holika, the devil minded sister of demon King Hiranyakashyap is placed in the wood and burnt. For, Holika tried to kill Hiranyakashyap’s son Prahlad, an ardent devotee of Lord Naarayana. The ritual symbolises the victory of good over evil and also the triumph of a true devotee.

Children also hurl abuses at Holika and pray pranks, as if they still try to chase away Dhundhi who once troubled little ones in the Kingdom of Prithu. Some people also take embers from the fire to their homes to rekindle their own domestic fires.

  Play of Colors

Next day, is of course the main day of Holi celebrations. The day is called Dhuleti and it is on this day that the actual play of colours take place. There is no tradition of holding puja and is meant for pure enjoyment. The tradition of playing colours is particularly rampant in north India and even in that region, there can be no comparison to the Holi of Mathura and Vrindavan. In Maharashtra and Gujarat too Holi is celebrated with lot of enthusiasm and fun. People take extreme delight in spraying colour water on each other with pichkaris or pouring buckets and buckets of it. Singing Bollywood Holi numbers and dancing on the beat of dholak is also a part of the tradition. Amidst all this activity people relish gujiya, mathri, malpuas and other traditional Holi delicacies with great joy.

Drinks, especially thandai laced with bhang are also an intrinsic part of the Holi festivity. Bhang helps to further enhance the spirit of the occasion but if taken in excess it might dampen it also. So caution should be taken while consuming it.

Holi Celebrations in South India

In south India, however, people follow the tradition of worshiping Kaamadeva, the love god of Indian mythology. People have faith in the legend which speaks about the great sacrifice of Kaamadeva when he shot his love arrow on Lord Shiva to break his meditation and evoke his interest in worldly affairs. After, an eventful and fun filled day people become a little sober in the evening and greet friends and relatives by visiting them and exchange sweets. Holi special get togethers are also organized by various cultural organizations to generate harmony and brotherhood in the society.

Any how in all where HOLI HAI… Come holi and the streets will reverberate with the chants of Holi hai…Colours will fill the atmosphere as people throw abeer and gulal in the air showing great joy and mirth in the arrival of this Spring Festival. Days before Holi, the markets get flooded with the colours of every hues. This aptly sets the mood of the people till the actual day of Holi. It is such a colourful and joyous sight to watch huge piles of bright red, magenta, pink, green and blue every where on the streets. Buying those colours seems as you are bringing joys and colour to your home and into your life. Children take special delight in the festival and demand every colour in loads. They have so many plans in their mind. They have to be the first to apply colour to Mama, Papa, siblings and a big bunch of friends in their colony. Nobody could miss being coloured by them and of course, they need colour for that. These days it is easy to buy colours from the market but still some people do take up the task of making colours at home, usually from flowers of tesu and palash. These home made colours, have a special fragrance of love in them. The other option is to buy gulal which comes in bright shades of pink, magenta, red, yellow and green. ‘Abeer’ is made of small crystals or paper like chips of mica. This is mixed with the gulal for a rich shine. Mischievous ones, however, go for silver and gold paints on which no colour could be applied. Whatever be the choice of colour, nobody remains in their original texture at the end of the play. And everybody takes delight looking at the other. Really, the other name of the festival is FUN.  And, it is not just children, but the young and the old alike who take delight in this joyous festival of colours. Seniors too, move in their tolis. Their enthusiasm is at times greater than that of their children as they forget the bars of age and follow their hearts. To youth, holi gives a chance to explore the heights of their enthusiasm as they climb the human pyramids to break the pot of buttermilk and to express their love to their beloved by applying colour. For, Holi knows no bars, everybody feels it is their right to enjoy and enjoy they do. Songs, dance, drinks, food everything goes in excess when it is time for Holi. It can be said, “Life turns Colourful” when it is time for Holi.

Today Holi is an excuse for Indians to shed inhibitions and caste differences for a day of spring fever and Big Fun. Teenagers spend the day flirting and misbehaving in the streets, quite often adults males are seen to grab an opportunity to spark colour on girls. Thus the holy message of the festival is charred with the natural flavour.

It’s a festival of gaiety but then there are few who make this festival, a festival of evil. They do this by infuriating the strangers by forcefully throwing colours on them; some use colours that are difficult to remove and unsafe for skin and health. Many take it as a day of drinking alcohol but we should not forget that Holi is a festival of triumph of good over evil. We must try to wash away all the evils in our hearts along with the colours and allow the colour of love to stay there forever and ever. This is the true spirit of Holi.

        Dr. Ashiq Hussain

    Govt Degree College Kishtwar

     Email. drashiqhussain@rediffmail.com

               drashiqhussain@gmail.com