Colourful Holi celebrations return

India and Nepal have exploded into a riot of colour for the Hindu festival of Holi. With Covid-19 restrictions prohibiting these festivities now lifted, young and old have packed the streets to celebrate.

Holi represents the arrival of spring, the blossoming of love and an opportunity to forgive and forget. It's a moment to settle your debts and to seek an end to conflict, and an appeal to the gods for a good spring harvest.

People chuck coloured powders called gulal at each other, with each colour carrying particular meanings. Red symbolises love and fertility, green's for nature and new beginnings, and blue represents Hindu god Krishna. Yellow's the colour of turmeric, used as a natural remedy.

Although gulal powders were once all created from natural sources, increasingly they're commercially produced. The powders are all water soluble and children relish mixing the colours with water and dropping paint-filled balloons on the crowds. Friends and strangers are all fair game as water is sprayed or splashed everywhere, and every face becomes streaked with paint.

Holi now reaches out around the world thanks to Hindu communities in many countries sharing the tradition. Other cultures are both enjoying its customs and learning more about their deeper significance. A key moment for families to gather and celebrate, after the long pause caused by Covid-19 this year's Holi appears even more vibrant than usual.

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