Happy Holi
When winter ends and spring harvest arrives, the youth blossom and fragrance of love spread everywhere. Now the Holi season takes everyone into ecstasies. On the full moon day of the month of Phalguna, people, so full of fire, celebrate the popular festival of colour and love. It often falls in March, but sometimes in late February. Holi commemorates the victory of Bhagwan Vishnu over Hiranyakashipu.
The gatekeepers of Bhagwan Vishnu, Jaya and Vijaya, annoyed Sanak, Sanandan, Sanat Kumar, and as a result, the Kumar’s cursed them, saying they be demons. In Satyuga, they were born to sage Kashyapa and Diti as Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha. When the Varah avatar of Lord Vishnu killed Hiranyaksha, his elder brother Hiranyakashipu decided to take revenge on him. He worshipped Brahma and gained the boon that granted him immunity to almost all the dangers that are mortally possible, and being the sole ruler of the earth and the sky without any rival.
Sage Narada rescued Kayadhu, the wife of Hiranyakashipu, from the gods and took her into his care. While she was living with the sage, she gave birth to their son, Prahlad. Since the son grew up under the guidance of the sage, he developed into a great devotee of his father’s arch-enemy, Lord Vishnu.
Being almost immortal, Hiranyakashipu became a tyrant. He silenced anyone who spoke out against him and forced the people to worship him instead of God. The whole world was shaking with terror.
However, Hiranyakashipu was not happy with the way his son was worshipping Vishnu. He tried to teach him that it was not Vishnu, but he himself, who was the supreme Lord of the universe, but he refused to acknowledge it. Eventually, he became so upset with Prahlad that he decided to kill him. He threw Prahlad down the mountain in a fit of rage, but before he fell on the rock, God Vishnu seized him with his tender hands. He tried different means to kill him, but every time he failed.
Hiranyakashipu had a sister named Holika, who was gifted with a magical power that could prevent any type of fire from burning her. One day, it occurred to the demon king that he could burn his rebellious son to death with the help of his sister. He asked his sister to sit on a burning pyre with Prahlad. When Holika did that, she was soon reduced to ashes, whereas Prahlad came out of the fire safe, chanting the name of Lord Vishnu.
At last, Hiranyakashipu drew his own sword to slay his son. “Prahlad,” he asked, “where’s he who you call all-pervading and the controller of all?” “He is in your sword, in the pillar, and everywhere around here,” replied Prahlad. The king roared in anger and smashed the pillar. Lord Vishnu appeared from the cracks of the pillar in the form of Narsingha after a loud thunder. He took the demon to the threshold, where he put him on his thighs and, with his sharp nails, ripped him up at twilight. Thus, He did not go against the words of Brahma.
By being excited with their first victory over a long-term tyranny, people strewed flowers and sprayed fragrance on each other. They danced, sang devotional songs, and then hugged each other. Later, the anniversaries of the end of Holika and her tyrant brother Hiranyakashipu and the rise of freedom were celebrated as Holi festival by the people who restored faith by being inspired by Prahlad, their young leader.
Since merry-making is seen as characteristic of Krishna, Holi also signifies the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Krishna was embarrassed that he was dark blue, and Radha fair. He playfully coloured Radha and the other milkmaids during a game so that they too looked like him. People started celebrating the anniversaries of the Krishna Lila by spraying each other with colour, which later became the Holi festival.
A monstrous demon called Taraka invaded the two worlds, and then the Indra-Lok too. Jupiter, the teacher of the gods, predicted that none but a son of Shiva could defeat Taraka. But Shiva was in deep meditation then. On Vasant Panchami day, the love god Kamadev shot arrows at Shiva’s heart in order to awaken him from his meditation and to arouse his love for Parvati. When the Mahayogi opened his third eye, it burned Kamadev to ashes. Rati was shattered by the loss of her beloved. She pleaded with Shiva to restore Kamadeva to life, which the merciful deity did on the day when Holi is celebrated.
In my childhood, children sprayed people with colour weeks in advance of Holi and nobody felt upset. We would gather logs and firewood at the bank of our village pond a few days before, and Pandit ji would light Holika in the early hours of Holi morning. Children, women, the young, and the elderly all would come and stand grouped around the fire, throwing cow dung cakes and plants of wheat and barley into it. Words cannot express how happy we were to play colours through noon till Purohit Pandit ji came and we listened to the Samvat with great concentration. Then a group of our Kakas and Dadas went door to door, singing Dhamal. There would gather a big crowd wherever they went, and the family playing host would offer tasty Gujhia and Betel to everyone there.
Now, most people celebrate Holi by getting boozed up, tearing their clothes off, having a barbaric dance, and making a mess around everywhere. Very few show respect and reverence towards their elders. Fashionable English schools and the modern education system have spoiled our age-old sophistication and sense of amiable social life. People seldom visit and see each other. Very few sprinkle each other with colours when most are quick to take offence at being sprayed a little. Sadly, ‘deshi tharra’ has spoiled all the charms of Holi today! However, our Holi festival still breathes grace and charm as ever.
Greetings
Holi is the festival of love, harmony, lively celebration of the emergence of liberty, order, and prosperity. May Holi accompany your long life!
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Holi is the victory day of those who love God, and its colour represents hope and success. Celebrate it and be like Prahlad: safe in the hands of Providence, and not like proud and drunk Hiranyakashyap. May you glow with a variety of different colours this Holi. Happy, Happy Holiiiiii...haiiiiii !!!
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The exchange of colour symbolises the transactions and relationships that make us grow with yearnings, actions and feelings. May this Holi bring us closer, so we may make a wider market and grow together as a family!
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May your life be a rainbow of achievements,
Joy dance to the music of accomplishments,
You evermore enjoy dishes of rising riches!
For New Samvat to you, love and best wishes!
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Colour me and let me colour you -
We must look alike:
Red, green, blue, yellow or orange
Not in black, nor white.
Holi has come to paint each heart
Red, red rosy love.
Come up to me, my dear, dear ones,
For you all waits my tub.
Happy Holi!!!
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I yearn to colour you, be coloured by you,
This Holi day, with colours of the same hue.
My heart aches: I have developed a passion
For your attention, care and compassion.
I am you, you are me, full of love this Holi be,
Hearts and minds, man all kinds holy be!
Bless us Holi with times jolly, love and joy;
Girls and boys, let us dishes festive enjoy.
Wish you all a very Happy Holi!!!!!!!!!!!!
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My colour is delicate and sweet-smelling;
The spray it makes is tender and loving;
And each of its drops is kind and gentle.
All of you with this colour, let me sprinkle.
Happy Holi, everyone! Thursday, 13 March 2025
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When I woke up, I saw my little one standing before me. I knelt down with my hands on her tiny, tender shoulders. Then I looked into her eyes. They were shining with excitement. “Shopping this afternoon?” I enquired. She started jumping up and down. “Pa, get me Holi toys, new suits, won’t you?” she insisted on. “OK, we’ll!” I smiled. Right then, my eyes really opened, and the horrid morning with worries of going to work even on a Holi holiday. By the way, I wish you all a very, very Happy Holi!! Happy Holi, everyone!
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Uplifting Words
No one can make everyone happy except for a naive.
It is better to get away from nonsense people, rather than put up with them.
Beauty and honour dwell in dignity – if dignity is gone, a smelly and ugly shrew is left.
The brave and diligent never know whether the days are hard or easy.
If life is milk, fear is lemon juice.
If you are enthusiastic about anything and have a feeling for music, stay here and enjoy it; it will make one of the happiest moments of your life.
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