Holi hai! Holi hai! The joyous cries that rent the air welcoming the arrival of spring. The festival of Holi heralds the end of the cold and gloom of winter and calls for celebration.
Holi, described, as the 'festival of colors,is the time when you can have fun splashing colors, all with the sanction of the Gods!
Holi in Himachal Pradesh is celebrated with much enthusiasm. People light bonfires fires called Holika, symbolic of victory of good over evil. Pichkaris in various creative and innovative designs are specially bought by children to color anybody who comes in sight and even more to the one who tries to escape...all in good fun.
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.
Holi marks the end of the winter gloom and rejoices in the bloom of the spring time.
It is the best time and season to celebrate; Holi provides this opportunity and people take every advantage of it.
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.
The Holi melas held at Palampur, Ghughar, Paprola, Baijnath, Jaisinghpur and Sujanpur also have an attraction of their own.
Sujanpur Mela on Holi dates back to the time of Katoch rulers especially Raja Sansar Chand who patronised artistes and musicians during his rule. This fair has been declared as a state festival by the Himachal government.
The fair is for four days and during this time lots of traditional folk theater along with Folk music and dances can be enjoyed by the people visiting the fair.
On a nearby hill at Tira is a temple dedicated to Chamunda Devi that still attracts a large number of devotees.The interesting fact to mark about Holi in Himachal Pradesh is that thousands gather at the holy shrine of Ponta Sahib in Sirmour district on the banks of Yamuna.
Kullu Holi is marked by mixing snow with colors making it an 'Ice Holi'. While, the main celebrations are held at the world famous Slang Pass, which witnesses heaviest snowfall in the country.The area is good for river rafting anglers in Harsi Pattan (30 km from Tira Sujanpur) and Lambagaon (15 km from Tira Sujanpur).
http://www.himachalhotels.in takes you on a colorful and fascinating tour of the popular Indian festival of Holi.
