The Way of Celebrating Holi in South India
It is a common fact that Holi is celebrated with fun and excitement all over India. Though you can see a lot of differences between the celebration procedure in different states of India. The way Holi is celebrated in Uttar Pradesh is strikingly different from the way it is celebrated in WestBengal or Tripura.
In north Indian states like Uttar Pradesh or Rajasthan Holi is a colorful fun-packed affair. You can see people drenched in color singing and dancing on the road. There is electrified music all around. The loud sound of drums can never be so exciting than during Holi.
On the other hand, the holi in West Bengal or Tripura is more of a cultural affair. In West Bengal, people play holi mostly with dry color powder, known as abeer. There are also religious rituals to be performed on that very day. On the day of Holi, people worship Lord Krishna and his love affair Radha and the day is celebrated as a festival of love and color.
However, if we go to the southern part of India, then we don’t find much celebration of the festival Holi. In south India holi is referred to as Madan Mahotsav or Kama Mahotsav. Kamdev is very popular in South India and the festival of Holi is dedicated to the God of love. The people celebrated the day by singing songs which tell the story of Kamadeva and his wife Rati. It is said that Lord shiva turned Kamadeva into ashes on the full-moon day of the Hindu month Phalgun and later brought him back to life upon hearing the cry of his wife Rati. The people of South India generally don’t use color powder in Holi.
However, in the city Hampi in South India, there is a ritual of throwing colored powder on the day of Holi. This is due to the presence of the western tourists. On the day of Holi, people hit the road with colored powder and liquid colors to celebrate Holi. People apply colors on each other.
A common sight of this procession is a foreigner carrying an Indian child on his shoulder. There is singing, dancing and fun everywhere. It is all about celebration and joy of life in Hampi during Holi.
Hope you will visit Hampi one day to enjoy Holi. But till then watch the video and enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPPRVSrst6Q