The brilliant colors of India's Holi festival
Spring has sprung!
To mark the end of winter and the arrival of spring, millions of Hindus from India and elsewhere celebrate Holi, the festival of colors. The national holiday officially begins March 27, but regional variations of Holi have taken place across the country in recent weeks. Devotees dance and throw colored powders known as "gulal" at each other to welcome the warm months to come. The use of gulal, which can also be mixed with water to form a dye, has its roots in the story of the love affair between the god Krishna and Radha. According to legend, Krishna, often depicted with a blue complexion, colored the face of Radha because he was jealous of her fair complexion. Take a look at the brilliantly colorful festival:
Nandgaon, India | March 3, 2013 (REUTERS/Adnan Abidi)
**
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
**
**
**
**
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
**
Nandgaon, India | March 22, 2013 (AHMAD MASOOD/Reuters/Corbis)
**
**
Barsana, India | March 22, 2013 (REUTERS/Vivek Prakash)
**
Elena Scotti is TheWeek.com's assistant photo editor. She is a photographer and printmaker living in Brooklyn. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Team of bitter rivals
Opinion Will internal tensions tear apart Trump's unlikely alliance?
By Theunis Bates Published
-
6 elegant homes in the Mediterranean style
Feature Featuring an award-winning mansion in Colorado and an Alhambra palace-inspired home in Washington
By The Week Staff Published
-
Harriet Tubman made a general 161 years after raid
Speed Read She was the first woman to oversee an American military action during a time of war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published