The Many Traditions Of Holi In Jaipur

Jaipur: In the pink city of Jaipur, there are many unique traditions associated with Holi, the festival of colours.

At the Govind Devji Mandir, Holi is a week-long celebration. Here, there is a tradition of playing Holi with flowers - artists come from all across Rajasthan to put up special folk performances.

On the final day, the temple priests spray the statue of Lord Krishna and Radha with coloured water, cauldrons filled with colour and pichkaris (water guns) are offered to Lord Krishna, and devotees play Holi in front of the deity, sprinkling him with colour and getting drenched in turn.

"Holi symbolises love, the love between Radha and Krishna and it's that emotion that permeates the celebration of this festival in the temple," says Sudhir Srivastav, coordinator of cultural activities at the Govind Devji Temple.

Not far away, in the bylanes of the old city area of Jaipur, Awaaz Mohammad's family has been making Gulal Gota (lac balls filled with colour) for seven generations for the festival of Holi.

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Soft lac is blown up in the shape of balls, filled with fragrant colour, and when thrown they splatter, dousing with colour and perfume. No celebration of Holi in Jaipur is complete without the Gulal Gota.   

Pointing out the secular and inclusive tradition of Holi in Jaipur, famous lac artisan Awaaz Mohammad says, "The real point in this is that I am a Muslim lac maker, and each year i make the Gulal Gota for my Hindu brothers - this signifies the secular traditions of our country and its essential brotherhood and I am very happy that I am a part of it."

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From temples of the old city to the royal palace and the streets of Jaipur, Holi here is truly a feast of colour. Another special tradition in Jaipur is a special colour combination that people wear - pink, white and red with traditional bandhej work called Phaganiya. It is worn in the month of Phalgun which according to the Hindu calendar is the month of Holi.

For once, the pink city of Jaipur, on the occasion of Holi, actually gets dyed in a myriad of colours.