The Holi Festival
Lens Magazine|October 2022
The Holi Festival of Colors in India is a celebration of the victory of good over evil, the destruction of the demoness Holika. 
ROBI CHAKRABORTY
The Holi Festival

It is celebrated every year on the day after the full moon in the Hindu month of Phalguna, in early March. People celebrate the start of spring and other events in the Hindu religion; they march the streets and spray people with colored powders while dancing and singing.

Holi, also known as the festival of colors, is a religious occasion celebrated with much pomp. It is considered the second biggest Hindu festival after Diwali, and the celebrations last for two days Choti Holi or Holika Dahan and Dhulandi or Rangwali Holi. It marks the celebration of the victory of good over evil. The festival falls in the Hindu calendar month of Phalgun, usually between February and March. On this day, people play with colors, water, flowers, and more, children and adults smear Gulal on each other, and people seek the blessings of their elders. People visit their friends and relatives and also relish Holi delicacies like gujiya, thandai, and more after playing Holi.

I was inspired to choose photography while growing up with a family friend who took photos on many of our trips while living in Kenya. As a young adult, I studied photography under O.P. Sharma at Triveni Kala Sangam Photography, New Delhi, India. I then worked in commercial and press photography in New Delhi. A highlight was working with Blossom Kochhar and photographing her models in New Delhi before I moved to the US in 1985.

This story is from the October 2022 edition of Lens Magazine.

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This story is from the October 2022 edition of Lens Magazine.

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