Top Five Places In India To Celebrate Holi

Holi Hein!

This is the time to splash colours, taste the lip-smacking gujias. It’s also the time to be carefree, get drunk, and be cheerful with a glass of bhang.

Holi is one of the most popular and ancient festivals of India; is also recognized as the ‘festival of colours’. This colourful festival has many Hindu mythological stories associated with it. Though, it is mostly celebrated in India, but, is spreading fast to various parts of Asia and the Western countries.

This outstanding festival is celebrated with loud music, sweets, folk dances, and vibrant colours which are traditionally known as ‘gulal’.

Top five places in India to celebrate Holi:

Holi, the festival of colours and spring is celebrated differently in various parts of the country. Every place has its own culture, tradition, myths, and legends behind the celebration. 

The top five places where one can choose to visit are as follows:

1. Mathura and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh:

When it is Holi, the first choice to visit would be Mathura and Vrindavan where it’s believed that Lord Shree Krishna was born and grew up. Here, Holi is celebrated with full of devotion. Visitors along with locals offer prayers to Lord Krishna. Dramas based on ‘Rash Leela’ are staged to portray the love between Lord Krishna and his beloved Radha, and thus show respect to the Lord. Besides, people play with vibrant colours, and sweets are exchanged between friends and relatives.

2. Barsana and Nandgaon, Uttar Pradesh:

Barsana and Nandgaon are places, very near to Mathura in the state of Uttar Pradesh, where one can experience a very unique style of Holi celebration. Here men with proper protection or shield are hit (mar) by women with ‘lath’, a thick bamboo stick. This tradition is being followed for centuries. It is believed that Lord Krishna went to tease humorously, his lover Radha and her friends on one of the auspicious days of Holi; were chased away by the annoyed women of Barsana. This myth made the locals follow ‘Lathmar Holi’ as tradition.

3. Jaipur, Rajasthan:

In the capital of Rajasthan, the pink city Jaipur, Holi is played along with an elephant festival, which is also known as ‘eleHoli’. This is one of the events that enrich your memories forever. One can play with colours, and take photos with trained elephants; covered with colourful clothing and ornaments. Besides, tourists can enjoy the delicious Rajasthani dishes (Thali) to make their tummy happy and cherish their visit throughout.

4. Shantiniketan, West Bengal:

Shantiniketan shows its magical charm when Holi or Basanta Utsav is celebrated here. It was once introduced by the Nobel laureate, the legendary poet Rabindranath Tagore. Here one can witness various cultural programs that are based on Rabindra Sangeet (songs which were produced by Tagore himself), dance, and other Bengali cultural programmes with vibrant colours and joy. Fans and followers of Rabindranath Tagore visit this place from all over the world during Holi. The festivity here spreads the feeling of love, and happiness and makes one’s visit more enchanting.

5. Kumaon, Uttarakhand:

Beside breathtaking scenic beauties with snow-clad mountains and greeneries, Kumaon a village, located in the mountain region of Uttarakhand, celebrates Holi with three major forms:

1. The Baithki Holi, where devotees dedicate devotional songs to Lord Krishna.
2. Khari Holi, where locals gather together and sing songs in harmony.
3. Mahila Holi, where only women gather together and sing songs for Lord Krishna

During Holi, one can visit Kumaon to experience the cultural richness and the holiness of the surrounding nature.

To conclude, it can be said that, though Holi is celebrated differently by people in many places; followed by the diverse culture, one thing is really common and that is the spirit of the people to celebrate.