HOLI FESTIVAL

Holi, popularly known as Phagu in Nepal, is a festival of colours and , thus, also a colourful festival of the Hindus. During this festival, people enjoy, spraying coloured water or smearing vermilion powder (normally) among friends and near ones. However, some people take this occasion as to indulge in evil designs e.g. annoying women and other pedestrians by doing so.

According to popular legends, the festival is in the pattern of Lord Krishna’s merry making with Gopis (the milkmaids) of Brindaban during the time of Mahabharat. It starts from the eighth of the bright half of the month of Falgun to last for a week. Phagu begins with the hoisting of a bamboo pole known as “Chir” a kind of colourful umbrella with three tiers in which colorful clothes are hung to symbolize the garments of the Gopies who were bathing in the Jamuna river. The bamboo poles are hoisted in Kathmandu at two places – one at Hanuman Dhoka and the other at Basantapur. To end the festival the poles are taken to a river bank and burnt. The last day of the festivals is observed with much gaiety when people feast and go around the city with vermilion powder to smear on friends.  

Another version about the origin of this festival says that it was first observed to commemorate the killing of Hiranyakasipu, the demon king by Narasimha, the man-lion. Or, more precisely, the festival was to cheer up the victory of Pralhad, the son of Hiranyakasipu himself (who turned up as his enemy) who was put to fire by Hilika, sister of Hiranyakasipu to kill him. But Pralhad came out of the fire un-harmed where as Holika who was blessed never to be burnt by fire, turned into ashes because of Pralhad’s devotion to God Vishnu.