There's much more to Holi than water balloons, gulaal and bhaang. This spring festival is traditionally celebrated in distinct ways in different parts of our country, and that's what the Times Raasrang Holi Utsav aims to showcase every year.
In its fourth edition this year, this unique Holi Utsav will present two kinds of Holi celebrations in Uttarakhand – Khari Holi and Baithi Holi. There will also be the popular Braj Ki Holi and the energetic Lath Mar Holi, along with traditional holi ke pakwaan. The highlight of the Utsav, to be held today and tomorrow at Dilli Haat, INA, is a performance by the band Faridkot on March 19, that's tomorrow, at 6pm.
But what are Khari Holi and Baithi Holi? These traditions, like customs all over the country, are connected to the climate and terrain of the region. In the hilly Uttarakhand, people practice the songs of Holi through the severe winter, as it signifies the spring. Holi was traditionally celebrated with music and dance, not through colours, which were introduced much later. People would start to sing Holi songs, composed in classical ragas, right from Basant Panchami, and would travel in groups from village to village, house to house, encouraging people to play with them. The toli or group grew as more people joined in, and this came to be known as Khari Holi. But while this is more informal and folksy, Baithi
Holi is formal and involves singing purely classical compositions describing Krishna's antics as he plays Holi. This is being showcased for the first time in Delhi, by a group from Uttarakhand, and to make it more authentic, white topis are going to be distributed and gulaal ka tilak applied to visitors.
Of course, there's also the ever popular Lath Mar Holi, but this time, there's going to be a toli from Braj explaining, through singing and a kind of folk theatre, why the women hit men with sticks. This is going to be followed by the Phoolon Ki Holi – in which people play with flowers – which is closer to the way Holi is played today. The audience is an integral part of the event, and the performers will be encouraging spectators to play these various kinds of Holi with them.
And then there's the food! There'll be traditional Holi pakwaan like the Braj ki gujia – the fried, chashni-filled variety made with mewa – and the pahari gujia, which is not fried and stuffed with coconut because milk is scarce in the hills. There's also kali gaajar ki kanji, thandai, aloo ke gutke, bhang ki chutney and kheere ka raita.
toi
In its fourth edition this year, this unique Holi Utsav will present two kinds of Holi celebrations in Uttarakhand – Khari Holi and Baithi Holi. There will also be the popular Braj Ki Holi and the energetic Lath Mar Holi, along with traditional holi ke pakwaan. The highlight of the Utsav, to be held today and tomorrow at Dilli Haat, INA, is a performance by the band Faridkot on March 19, that's tomorrow, at 6pm.
But what are Khari Holi and Baithi Holi? These traditions, like customs all over the country, are connected to the climate and terrain of the region. In the hilly Uttarakhand, people practice the songs of Holi through the severe winter, as it signifies the spring. Holi was traditionally celebrated with music and dance, not through colours, which were introduced much later. People would start to sing Holi songs, composed in classical ragas, right from Basant Panchami, and would travel in groups from village to village, house to house, encouraging people to play with them. The toli or group grew as more people joined in, and this came to be known as Khari Holi. But while this is more informal and folksy, Baithi
Holi is formal and involves singing purely classical compositions describing Krishna's antics as he plays Holi. This is being showcased for the first time in Delhi, by a group from Uttarakhand, and to make it more authentic, white topis are going to be distributed and gulaal ka tilak applied to visitors.
Of course, there's also the ever popular Lath Mar Holi, but this time, there's going to be a toli from Braj explaining, through singing and a kind of folk theatre, why the women hit men with sticks. This is going to be followed by the Phoolon Ki Holi – in which people play with flowers – which is closer to the way Holi is played today. The audience is an integral part of the event, and the performers will be encouraging spectators to play these various kinds of Holi with them.
And then there's the food! There'll be traditional Holi pakwaan like the Braj ki gujia – the fried, chashni-filled variety made with mewa – and the pahari gujia, which is not fried and stuffed with coconut because milk is scarce in the hills. There's also kali gaajar ki kanji, thandai, aloo ke gutke, bhang ki chutney and kheere ka raita.
toi
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