Holi festival One of the major festivals of India, Holi is celebrated with full enthusiasm and gaiety on the

full moon day in Phalgun month which is the month of March as per the Gregorian calendar. Holi festival may be celebrated with different names and people of different states might be following different traditions. The specialty and uniqueness of Holi is the spirit of it which remains the same throughout the country wherever it is celebrated. Preparations The country wears a festive look when it is time for Holi celebration. Market places get busy with activity as frenzied shoppers start preparations for the festival. Heaps of various hues of abeer and gulal can be seen on the roadside days before the festival. Every year Pichkaris in innovative and modern design too come up to lure the children wish to collect them as Holi memorabilia. Womenfolk too start making early preparations for the holi festival as they cook lot of gujiya, mathri and papri for the family, for neighbors and also for the relatives. Some women in the north make potato chips and papads at this Holi season.

Season of Bloom Everyone gets delighted at the arrival of Holi as the season itself is so gay. Holi is also called the Spring Festival - marking the arrival of spring the season of hope and joy. Fields get filled with crops promising a good harvest to the farmers and blooms flowers colouring the surroundings and filling fragrance in the air. In South India, people worship Kaamadeva on this day- the god of love and passion for his extreme sacrifice. Holika Dahan On the eve of Holi, called Chhoti or Small Holi, people gather together at important crossroads and light huge bonfires, the ceremony is called Holika Dahan. This is also followed in Gujarat and Orissa. To dedicater greatfulness to Agni, god of Fire, the harvested gram and stalks are also offered to Agni.. Ash left from this huge bonfire is also considered sacred and people apply it on their foreheads believing that the ash protects them from evil forces. Play of Colors People with great excitement Great excitement can be seen in people on the day when it is actually the time for the play of colours. Shops and offices remain closed on that day and people

get all the time to get crazy and whacky. Bright colours of gulal and abeer fully spread in the air and people take turns in pouring colour water over each other. Children gets delighted in spraying colours on one another with their pichkaris and throwing water balloons on the passers by. Women and senior citizen form groups which are called tolis and move in colonies applying colours and exchanging greetings. Songs, dance with dholak and mouthwatering Holi sweets are the other highlights of the day. Lovers too long to apply colours on their beloved as an expression of Love.

Sober Evening After a funfilled and exciting day, the evenings the spent in sobriety when people meet friends and relatives and exchange sweets and festive greetings. It is said the spirit of Holi encourages the feeling of brotherhood in society and even the enemies turn friend on this great day. People of all communities and even different religions participate in this joyous and colouful festival and strengthen the secular fabric of the nation.