People celebrate Holi with fervour, festivity

Holi, a Hindu religious festival of colours, is being celebrated across the country with due religious fervor and much enthusiasm.

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 broken relationships, and is also celebrated as a thanksgiving for a good harvest.

Photo: Prabir Das

The festival, also known as Dol Purnima (full moon day), begins in the morning and will continue till afternoon. It also usually lasts for two days starting on the Purnima in several parts of the country.

As a ritual in celebration of the festival, the devotees are visiting the shrines, temples and offering colours (abir) at the feet of Idol of the God Sri Krishna and Goddess Sri Radhika.

Abir Khela, a significant part of the festival, means throwing of abir, a kind of perfumed and pink coloured powder and different other colorful powders by revelers on each other making festival-goers coated in colour to make the extravaganza enthusiastic.

“Religious songs in praise of lord Krishna were recited at 7:00am at the Dhakeswari National Temple to mark the Holi festival followed by abir khela,” Dhakeswari National Temple spokesman Advocate Taposh Kummar Paul told BSS adding that though the Dol Purnima begun on Wednesday, it will continue throughout the day today.

Apart from Dhakeswari National Temple, Mahanagar Sarbajanin Puja Committee organized worshiping and Kirton (devotional songs) in the morning. Abir will be offered at the feet of idols of Radha Krishna and Chaitanyadeb. Devotees also offered the abir to god and goddess.

Besides, the festival is being celebrated at different temples across the country, including capital Dhaka. Marking the festival, the surroundings of Dhakeswari Temple wore a festive look as hundreds of youths irrespective of religions, castes and creeds celebrate the festival with different colors.

People from across the country are celebrating the festival by colouring their fellow devotees.