Holi Festival Malaysia 2015 ( 2 )

'Holi-The Festival of Colours' at Shree Lakshmi Narayanan Temple, KL
68, Jalan Kasipillay, Off Jalan Ipoh, KL (11am – 3pm, 21 March, 2015)

Holi is a spring festival, also known as the festival of colours or the festival of love. It is an ancient Hindu religious festival which has become popular with non-Hindus in many parts of South Asia, as well as people of other communities outside Asia. It is primarily observed in India, Nepal, and other regions of the world with significant populations of Hindus or people of Indian origin. The festival has, in recent times, spread to parts of Europe and North America as a spring celebration of love, frolic, and colours.
Holi celebrations start with a Holika bonfire on the night before Holi where people gather, sing and dance. The next morning is a free-for-all carnival of colours, where participants play, chase and colour each other with dry powder and coloured water, with some carrying water guns and coloured water-filled balloons for their water fight. Anyone and everyone is fair game, friend or stranger, rich or poor, man or woman, children and elders. They frolic and fight with colours occurs in the open streets, open parks, outside temples and buildings. Groups carry drums and musical instruments, go from place to place, sing and dance. People visit family, friends and foes to throw colours on each other; laugh and chit-chat, and then share Holi delicacies, food and drinks. Womenfolk too start making early preparations for the Holi festival as they cook loads of gujiya, mathri and papri for the family and also for the relatives.

The festival date varies every year, per the Hindu calendar, and typically comes in March, sometimes February. The festival signifies the victory of good over evil, the arrival of spring, end of winter, and for many a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, forget and forgive, and repair ruptured relationships. In Malaysia this year, it was grander than ever with 4,500 people participating ever since the celebration was opened to the public four years ago. Tourists from Argentina, Germany and Switzerland even planned their trips to Malaysia around this festival date.

Greeting every visitor with an affectionate pat of coloured powder, visitors could buy packets of organic coloured powder imported from India at RM10 for three packets. The colours that are thrown at each other symbolises happiness and the celebration of light in our lives.