New Delhi, March 4 – Holi festivities swept across India on Wednesday, with vibrant colors, lively music, and traditional celebrations as people exchanged sweets to mark the victory of good over evil.
From temple rituals in Mathura-Vrindavan, the vibrant 'Dhulandi' celebrations in Rajasthan, to AAP's 'Kattar Imandar Holi' in the national capital, cities and villages were filled with color as devotees and locals celebrated Holi with enthusiastic joy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended Holi greetings, saying the festival infuses the atmosphere with new energy.
"Heartfelt greetings to all citizens on the occasion of Holi. May this festival, filled with colors and enthusiasm, bring happiness to everyone," Modi said in a Hindi message.
"This festival infuses the entire atmosphere with new energy. This is the greatest speciality of this celebration. The way the colors of happiness are seen everywhere, it leaves everyone feeling exuberant and joyful," he added.
At least six people, including minors, died in Odisha due to drowning while celebrating the festival. Two such incidents occurred in Jajpur and Sundergarh districts of Odisha, while one each occurred in Cuttack and Keonjhar districts of the state.
The temple town of Mathura in Uttar Pradesh was filled with festivities as devotees and locals celebrated Holi with traditional fervor. Holi was celebrated with great enthusiasm outside the Bankey Bihari temple, but not inside the sanctum sanctorum.
The village of Bachchgaon in the district celebrated 'Chappal Holi', where elders playfully hit the younger ones with slippers, following a 150-year-old tradition that began with opposing the Britishers.
A similar tradition was observed in Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur, where the 'Lat Sahab' procession was taken out, with revellers chanting slogans and symbolically striking the 'Lat Sahab' with shoes.
This annual procession marks a centuries-old Holi tradition, where a man representing a colonial-era 'Lat Sahab' – a figure of authority – is paraded through the town on a bullock cart, while revellers chant slogans and strike him with shoes in a symbolic act of mischief.
In Delhi, AAP leaders, including former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, celebrated what they called 'Kattar Imandar Holi' at Manish Sisodia's residence.
"Today, the colors of 'kattar imandaar' (staunch honest) will fill the air, not the colors of corruption. This Holi is very special for AAP," Sisodia said, days after a Delhi court gave a clean chit to him, Kejriwal, and 21 others in the excise policy case.
At the Congress office on 24, Akbar Road, Rahul Gandhi celebrated Holi with party workers, applying colors on everyone before being smeared with 'gulal' in return.
In a post on X, Gandhi said, "Heartfelt greetings to all of you on the festival of colors and love, Holi. May the colors of Holi fill your lives with new hopes, new enthusiasm, and countless happiness."
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "On this joyous occasion that bridges distances, I wish you all a very Happy Holi. May your life always be filled with the colors of happiness."
Jammu celebrated Holi with gaiety, with the Army and paramilitary forces joining the festivities along the Indo-Pak border.
The main celebrations were held across Jammu city, where people of different communities exchanged greetings and shared festive delicacies in a spirit of harmony.
Army and BSF troops deployed along the LoC and International Border celebrated Holi with the border residents and NGOs.
'Dhulandi', often referred to as the main day of Holi or ‘Rangwali Holi’, was celebrated across Rajasthan, a day after partial observance in some areas due to a lunar eclipse.
In Jaipur, a Holi Milan ceremony was organised at the chief minister's residence, where Bhajanlal Sharma played Holi with domestic and foreign tourists, and members of former royal families.
In Ajmer's Pushkar, a large number of tourists, including foreigners, attended the International Holi Festival at the fairground.
In Punjab, Haryana, and their common capital, Chandigarh, people celebrated Holi with traditional zeal, smearing 'gulal' on each other, and exchanging sweets to mark the occasion.
A huge rush of devotees flocked to Anandpur Sahib in Punjab for the ‘Holla Mohalla’ festival of the Sikh community, offering prayers at the Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib.
In West Bengal, people continued the festivities on Wednesday, a day after 'Doljatra'.
Bonhomie and camaraderie marked the occasion, as revellers danced to popular songs while children splashed passers-by with colors, cutting across religious and linguistic divides.
The revelry was particularly lively in Kolkata’s Burrabazar, Chitpur, Bhawanipur, Lake Town, and Kashipur, which house a sizable north Indian population.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee posted on X: "HAPPY HOLI! May this vibrant festival fill every home with joy and color."
The festival of colors was celebrated with much enthusiasm in Telangana and Odisha, while traditional fervor marked Holi in Jharkhand, with revellers smearing one another with 'gulal', and dancing to the tunes of traditional Holi songs.
In Hyderabad, children and youth revelled in Holi celebrations at apartments and residential complexes, with north Indian communities organising 'Holika Dahan' to ring in the festival.
In Puri, special arrangements were made for foreign tourists participating in Holi festivities, while hoteliers and lifeguards were asked to keep a close watch on tourists to prevent drowning incidents at Puri beach.