The Fagu festival, popularly known as Holi, is being celebrated today (Saturday) by smearing red vermilion powder and throwing colour and water-filled balloons at each other.

Youths enjoying Holi by smearing colors, marking the Fagu festival, also called the festival of colors, at Thamel, Saturday Mar 03 07. nepalnews.com/rh

Youths enjoying Holi by smearing colors, marking the Fagu festival, also called the festival of colors, at Thamel, Saturday Mar 03 07. nepalnews.com/rh
An important festival of the Nepalis, Holi begins on the eighth day of the new moon in the month of Falgun and ends with the burning of the ‘Chir’, which is installed earlier, on the full moon day.

The festival is celebrated in the hilly areas including Kathmandu valley today (Saturday) and in the Terai region on Sunday.

The festival revolves around a mythology of demon king Hiranya Kashyapu ordering his sister Holika to enter a fire with Pralhad, son of the demon king and a devout follower of Lord Vishnu, in her lap so that Pralhad would stop chanting the name of the God. The catch was that Holika wouldn’t burn in the fire because of a boon she had received from the God.

But it so happened that the fire burned Holika whereas Pralhad remained unharmed and came out of the fire still chanting the name of the almighty.

From then onwards, the festival is celebrated by smearing colour in enjoyment. There is also a saying that Lord Vishnu had told Holika that the boon she had received would be meaningless if it was misused.

Elders believe that any premonitions can be avoided if ‘Tika’ made from the ashes of the ‘Chir’ is put on one’s forehead or kept in the house. Revelry in the form of throwing water-filled balloons at pedestrians from the upper windows of houses usually marks the festival.

Hindus in Nepal, India and around the world smear colors and exchange greetings during Holi celebrations.

However, over the last few decades, Holi has been witnessing wrong trends such as targeting of young women in the streets, forcible smearing of colors and use of dirty water in water-filled balloons, causing inconvenience to others.

Despite strict warning of the Home Ministry to refrain from throwing such balloons at unsuspecting pedestrians, the act continued this year as well.