It is that time of the year when spring rules the mood. Colours add much desired vibrancy to life. And, the festival of colours brings in an innate change in season which people celebrate with exuberance. Think of Holi and one can see friends and families get together and have a gala time. Splashing water, smearing colours and tossing balloons on one another; finishing off glasses of the intoxicating drink, more popularly known as bhaang or thandai; rain dance to loud music are the factors which are associated to the fun and frolic of this festival.
And so the Ranchiites plan to celebrate Holi with a twist:
Alka Nizami, Director Deepshikha NGO: Alike every year I will celebrate Holi with my family. I am going to my family place especially to enjoy the festival of colours.
Poonam Anand, Social Worker Over the last few years, the festive spirit of Holi, as the festival of colours, has seen a change in the way it has been traditionally celebrated especially amongst the youth. Gone are the days when even strangers would smear colour on each others’ cheeks and say - bura na mano Holi hai. For me Holi is a festival to cook and enjoy gastronomic food. For Holi I have especially prepared different types of mouth-watering Chat for family and friends.
Swati, Hostilier CUJ: The more we grow up, the more concerned we become about our skin! So I have thought about playing in a different way an eco-friendly. I will be meeting a few friends and play Holi but we have decided to use very little water and use only organic colours. As I have come home after a long time I will cook special traditional food for my parents this holi.
Ekta Sinha, Chartered Accountant: This time I will celebrate Holi in new way so that I can bring smiles on faces of many along with promoting eco-friendly Holi. I will encourage people to avoid using water during Holi. lot of water is wasted during Holi and at this time saving water is a must as we are already coping with shortage of water.
Holi can also be played without using water. If we use natural colours and play Holi without using water, we can achieve our goal of protecting nature and ourselves through eco-friendly Holi. So try to promote “Save Water” motto this time during Holi.
Many People said they will prefer to stay at home and enjoy in their own quiet ways as Teeka Holi, so that the essence of the festival as well as the bonding with family and friends remain the flavour of the day.