A rainbow of colour to herald the start of spring: Hindu devotees throw vivid power at each other to celebrate Lathmar Holi Festival
Worldwide, Daily news | ankakh | March 22, 2013 16:28
From lavish Bollywood film sets to sparkling saris and colourful curries, India has an international reputation for embracing a rainbow of shades.
And yesterday the vivid spirit of the nation was kept alive at a celebration to herald the arrival of spring – the Lathmar Holi Festival.
Thousands of Hindus travelled to the small villages of Nandgaon and Barsana in
the Northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh to throw an array of striking powders at each other.
A prelude to the major national Holi spring festival – known as the Festival of Colours – it sees participants shower each other with brightly coloured dyes and millions of flower petals.
The men sing provocative songs and throw the coloured powders and flowers on the women, who fight back by pretending to beat them with bamboo.
In the Lathmar Holi festival, the men from Nandgaon first come to the neighbouring village of Barsana to play Holi with the women there. On the second day, men from Barsana travel to Nandgaon to play the game with their women.
The women of both villages begin preparing a month in advance, with mother-in-laws feeding their daughters-in-law rich food so that they show off their prowess on the Holi battle zone.
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