Happy Holi people! Even Google has jumped the bandwagon in celebrating the Indian festival of colours. Google Doodle has a fresh take on how to honour the festival. Holi is a traditional festival in India which is celebrated using lots of colours. Google has captured the essence of it using an animated doodle. While many Indians get ready to splash each other with a variety of colours and smear whoever we can get our hands on, the animated Google doodle has a bunch of people splashing the letters in red, blue, green purple and yellow while they move to the next person to do the same. Google, itself has explained it like: “Amid the cloud of red, blue, yellow, green, and everything in between, festival-goers can often be found laughing, singing, and dancing in the streets.”
Today, on March 13, India is all set to celebrate the festival of colours, Holi which has always been associated with colours, family gatherings, lots of sumptuous food and lots of fun games and activities. A playful festival that holi is, it starts a day before the colour smearing day when Holika is doused into the fire. The effigies of Holika who is the sister of Hiranyakashyap, the demon king is set ablaze which symbolises the victory of good over evil.
The festival of Holi and rituals surrounding it varies from state to state for example in Vrindavan and Mathura, Holi is celebrated with great pomp and joy in every temple housing the idols of Radha and Krishna. In Bengal, Holi is celebrated as Dol yatra where idols of Krishna and Radha are placed on the swing. Orrisa too indulges in the festival in the same way except it places Jagannath in the swing. Holi may have a difference name, a different style of being celebrated but at the end its the essence of the colours which remains the main highlight of the festival.
Holi is a day of victory over evil and happiness over grief. Let this Holi, bring in all happiness and health in your life as well as the people you love and belong to.
