Holi is one of the most awaited festivals not only for Hindus but for people of various religions and caste. This festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm by people of all age groups. Colours are a vital part of this festival and people have fun smearing these colours on each other.

Holi marks the beginning of the spring season and is generally celebrated to show gratitude to the good harvest reaped that year. Besides this, this festival also has mythological significance stating the triumph of good over evil.

This festival benefits us both spiritually and scientifically like:

• The heat generated during the process of burning holika kills the bacteria in our body
• Applying the mixture of sandalwood paste and ashes of holika on forehead is believed to bless you with good health
• This festival brings people out from the lazy mood of the winter season
• Applying natural colours like turmeric, tulsi powder, neem, during this festival works as a skincare treatment

According to the religious texts, there are many legendary stories behind the celebration of this festival among which the story of Hiranyakashyap and his son Prahlada is the well-known one. Prahlada was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu while his father Hiranyakashyap called himself as the god and hated even taking the name of Vishnu.

Hiranyakashyap tried to stop his son from worshipping Lord Vishnu and used different techniques but was not successful. So, he called his sister Holika who had a boon of not getting burnt in the fire. Holika took Prahlada and sat on the pyre but Lord Vishnu protected his dear devotee and Holika got burnt in the same fire.

Later, Lord Vishnu took the form of Narasimha, which is half human and half lion form and killed the demon king Hiranyakashyap.

One day before the Holi festival, people burn the effigy of holika and the ritual is called Holika Dahan. In this ritual, a bonfire is lit and people go round the fire praying and seeking blessings from the almighty.

The next morning, people gather on the streets and play with colours. Children splash coloured water with water guns and also make water balloons to throw at each other. A variety of sweet dishes are prepared for the festival and gujiya is the most prepared sweet for Holi.