“Holi aayi re holi aayi re” you
may have heard this song, and today I am singing this song because the festival
of colors is just knocking at the door. So what are you waiting for? Look
around and you can feel the real zeal and enthusiasm of Holi.
The celebrations of holi differ from region to
region, every where holi is celebrated in different ways. And one famous and
authentic kind of holi celebrations in India is the Lathmar Holi. It is said that the trend of colors and the modern form of Holi was
introduced in Mathura and Vrindavan by Lord Krishna himself and that is people
of this region celebrate Holi religiously.
Lathmar Holi is celebrated in
Barsana, a small village which is about 15 km away from Vrindavan. it is
celebrated in a very traditional style. And no other place can ever match the
ambience of this festival which is celebrated here in Barsana. According to
mythology, Barsana is the birth
place of Lord Krishnas divine beloved, Radha. This is also the place where Lord
Krishna used to play and enjoy raas-leela with his beloved and Gopis. Holi here
is regarded as the celebration of divine love of Radha and Krishna.
As per mythological tale, One day, Krishna complained to his
mother Yashoda about the injustice of nature which made Radha so fair and he so
dark. For this she replied to his innocent question and asked him to go and
color Radhas face in whichever color he wanted.
In a mischievous mood, naughty Krishna heeded the
advice of mother Yashoda and applied color on her beloved Radhas face; Making
her one like himself. And from that day
the tradition of celebrating holi started not only in Barsana but all over
India. Following the tradition, men from
Nandgaon, the place where Krishna spent his childhood and early days, come to
play Holi with the women of Barsana. Here, women and girls welcome them not
with colors, but with stout sticks.
All this takes place in pursuit
of men, trying to put a flag on the temple dedicated to Radha Rani. To stop
them from doing so, women beat them hard with sticks. On the other hand, men,
knowing what awaits them, come fully padded, carrying shields to protect
themselves. The sight of women beating men is electrifying. The environment echoes
with the reverberating sound produced by the stick hammering the shields. This
scene seems very interesting and electrifying. And women get a chance to show
their power by playing lathmar and it is considered the sweet revenge that
women take for the ancient pranks played by Lord Krishna on them.
However, after all the women folk is tired then
the chance for the men to reciprocate is started. They drench the women with
the colors of kesudo (a natural dye) and palash, thereby balancing the deal. At
the end of the day, the Holi celebrations at Barsana present an unforgettable
life time experience, downed with the spirit of devotion and affection for the
Lord. You can easily gel up with our tradition and enjoy the authentic way to
play holi.
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