Millions of Indians celebrated Monday the Hindu Holi festival, dancing to festive music, exchanging food and drink and smearing each other with red, green, blue and pink powder, turning the air into a joyful kaleidoscope of color.
India Celebrates Holi, Hindu Festival of Color That Marks Reawakening of Spring
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Villagers from Barsana and Nandgaon smeared with colors play Lathmar Holi at Nandagram temple in Nandgoan village, 115 kilometers (70 miles) south of New Delhi, India, March 19, 2024.
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Widely known as the Hindu festival of colors, Holi marks the arrival of the spring season in India, Nepal and other South Asian countries as well as the diaspora. It celebrates the divine love between the Hindu god Krishna and his consort Radha, and signifies a time of rebirth and rejuvenation, embracing the positive and letting go of negative energy. Above, women pose for a photograph in Kolkata, India, March 25, 2024.
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Across the country, people — some dressed in all white — celebrated the festival by drenching one another in colored powder while others flung water balloons filled with colored pigment from balconies. Some used squirt guns to chase down fellow revelers in parks, and others danced on the streets to music blaring from speakers.
Above, devotees cheer as colored powder and water is sprayed on them at the Kalupur Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad, India, March 24, 2024.
Above, devotees cheer as colored powder and water is sprayed on them at the Kalupur Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad, India, March 24, 2024.
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Food and drink are a big part of the festivities. Vendors in parts of India sold Thandai — a traditional beverage prepared with milk, dry fruits and can sometimes be laced with cannabis. Above, a shopkeeper sells local snack prepared with Bhang or cannabis in the Indian state of Rajasthan, India, March 21, 2024.