Wrong end of the stick for some as Hindus mark Holi and the start of spring
A student of Rabindra Bharati University, with her face smeared in coloured powder, poses during celebrations for Holi inside the university campus in Kolkata, India, February 26, 2018. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indians are celebrating Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, this week, spraying water cannon and smearing colored powders over each other in an annual ritual marking the beginning of spring.
While most play and sing songs, some have added local variations to the festival, delving deep into Hindu mythology.
In the northern town of Barsana, women wield wooden sticks to beat up men singing risque songs in a version called "Lathmar", or stick-wielding Holi.
Hindu devotees take part in the religious festival of Holi inside a temple in Nandgaon village, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India February 25, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
The ritual draws on a story about Hindu god Krishna, who was chased away by women in Barsana while he wooed his beloved. Echoing that practice, women hurl sticks at men, who try to escape. Those who get caught are made to wear women's clothing and dance.
The main festival is on Friday this year but celebrations begin a week early in the town of Vrindavan, Krishna's birthplace.
The town is home to Hindu widows who are made to forgo adornments and cannot return to their families after the death of their husbands. But on Holi, they sing and dance and play with colors before they go back to their sequestered lives.
Students of Rabindra Bharati University, with their faces smeared in coloured powder, take a selfie during celebrations for Holi inside the university campus in Kolkata, India, February 26, 2018. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri
(Reporting by Neha Dasgupta; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Nick Macfie)
A Hindu devotee takes part in the religious festival of Holi inside a temple in Nandgaon village, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India February 25, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiA student of Rabindra Bharati University reacts as fellow students throw coloured powder in her face during the Holi celebrations inside the university campus in Kolkata, India February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Rupak De ChowdhuriWidows daubed in colours dance as they take part in Holi celebrations in the town of Vrindavan in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiHindu devotees take part in the religious festival of Holi inside a temple in Nandgaon village, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India February 25, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiA widow daubed in colours takes part in Holi celebrations in the town of Vrindavan in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi Vendors selling coloured powder for Holi celebrations, wait for customers along a roadside in Guwahati, India, February 28, 2018. REUTERS/Anuwar HazarikaWidows daubed in colours dance as they take part in Holi celebrations in the town of Vrindavan in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiA widow daubed in colours takes part in Holi celebrations in the town of Vrindavan in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiWidows daubed in colours dance as they take part in Holi celebrations in the town of Vrindavan in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiA Hindu devotee takes part in the religious festival of Holi inside a temple in Nandgaon village, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India February 25, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiStudents of Rabindra Bharati University, with their faces smeared in coloured powder, take a selfie during celebrations for Holi inside the university campus in Kolkata, India. REUTERS/Rupak De ChowdhuriWidows daubed in colours dance as they take part in Holi celebrations in the town of Vrindavan in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiA widow daubed in colours takes part in Holi celebrations in the town of Vrindavan in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiA widow daubed in colours takes part in Holi celebrations in the town of Vrindavan in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiA student of Rabindra Bharati University, with his face smeared in coloured powder, reacts as his fellow student throws coloured powder on his face during Holi celebrations inside the university campus in Kolkata, India, February 26, 2018. REUTERS/Rupak De ChowdhuriHindu devotees take part in the religious festival of Holi inside a temple in Nandgaon village, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India February 25, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiA Hindu devotee takes part in the religious festival of Holi inside a temple in Nandgaon village, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India February 25, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiWidows daubed in colours dance as they take part in Holi celebrations in the town of Vrindavan in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiA widow daubed in colours takes part in Holi celebrations in the town of Vrindavan in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
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