KATHMANDU: Observed for centuries, Holi is a popular springtime festival. It is a Hindu festival that marks the start of spring season.
In addition, the festival also celebrates the triumph of good over evil, color, and love predominantly in Nepal and India.
In Nepal, it is a jubilant occasion that sees people, especially youngsters, chill out on this day. All offices, including education institutions, remain closed on this day while the markets look deserted – with most of the stores pulling down their shutters.
Different activities, including musical concerts are organized on this day in different parts of Kathmandu and elsewhere.
Kids poise with water guns from rooftop terraces while motorcyclists wielding handfuls of colored powder take to streets by launching drive-by assaults. Throngs of people, caked in multi-colored dust, wander around the city wildly.
The festival is celebrated in Tarai on Thursday and the next day in Kathmandu.
Holi is becoming a hot favorite festival in Nepal.
According to various legends in Hindu mythology, one of the major belief is the story of a demon, Holika, her brother King Hiranyakashipu, and his son Prahlad, who is Lord Vishnu’s devotee.
Irate with his son’s devotion, Hiranyakashipu and his sister Holika plot to kill Prahlad when Holika lures Prahlada onto a pyre to burn him to death. However, instead of Prahlad, Holika is consumed by the flames.
Lord Vishnu protects Prahlad, his devotee. This was how the festival began, according to mythologies. People, especially in the Terai, burn the effigy of Holika which is placed on top of the pyre.
Whatever the myth, Holi festival continues to be a favorite amongst the youngsters.
Comment