The Hindu festival of colours, Holi was celebrated with lots of fun in the country’s hilly region including the Kathmandu Valley, on Tuesday, March 26.
People assembled in small groups in their neighborhoods smearing coloured powders and throwing water-filled balloons at one another since early today.
Security check was tightened on the road to avert any untoward incidents this year. No violent occurrences have been reported so far. However, police have detained 310 revelers, including two women, from various places of the Valley for offenses such as drink driving and hitting others against their will with water-filled balloons and smearing colored powders, DSP Chakra Bahadur Singh, spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Range, Hanumandhoka, informed.
Celebrated by, more ore less, all communities, Holi begins on the eighth day of the new moon and ends with the burning of the “Chir´, which was installed earlier, on the full moon day. The government has announced a public holiday today in the hilly region to celebrate this joyous occasion. The festival is celebrated in the Tarai region on Wednesday (March 27).
The festival revolves around mythology of the demon king Hiranya Kashyapu ordering his sister Holi ka to sit on a fire with Pralhad, son of the demon king and a devout follower of Lord Bishnu, in her lap so that Pralhad would stop chanting the name of the Lord. The catch was that Holika wouldn´t burn in the fire because of a boon she had received from god. But it so happened that Holi ka was burned in fire while Pralhad remained unharmed and came out of the fire chanting the name of god. From then onwards, the festival has been celebrated by smearing colour in delight.
Photos by: Nirnit Tandukar / TexasNepal
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