HOLI

HOLI There’s no better place to witness the traditional celebrations of Holi than in the temple town of Mathura and its surrounding villages. While the rest of the country is content with splashing of colours just for a day, here in Braj Bhoomi, it goes on for more than a week. The celebrations start with Laddoo Holi, where it literally rains laddoos at the Radha Rani Temple of Barsana. Up next is the age-old tradition of Lathmaar, where women wielding six foot long sticks take to the streets, to give the men of neighbouring Nandgaon a sound thrashing. The next day it is the turn for the men from Barsana to visit Nandgaon and they are met with the same treatment. Subsequently, celebrations begin at other major temples like Mathura’s Dwarkadhish and Vrindavan’s Banke Bihari Temple. The revelry finally spills out on the streets for Dhuleti where the entire country joins in. But a day later, the strangest ritual unfolds at the village of Baldeo. Here, devotees gather at the courtyard of Dauji Temple and as the ritual play starts, women tear off men’s shirt, soak them in water and trash them with it.