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THE HOLI HUSTLE

India so called the land of festivals has a very unique but very popular festival celebrated across whole country. HOLI, this festival of India is one of the most important and delightful festival of the country. It is celebrated on the FULL MOON NIGHT(i.e, Puranmashi in Hindi) of the month of PHALGUN(according to the HINDU Calendar) which is the month of March as per the Gregorian Calendar.

            Entire country wears a festive look when it is time for Holi celebration. Market places get abuzz with activity as frenzied shoppers start making preparations for the festival. Heaps of gulal and abeer can be seen on the roadside days before the festival. Pichkaris in innovative and modern design too come up every year to lure the children who wish to collect them as Holi memorabilia and of course, to drench everybody in the town.
            During the course of this festival a variety of food items especially made for the occasion are always a center of attraction for food lovers. Food items like GUJIYA,PAPAD,MATHRI,SAMOSE and last but not the least home made Potato CHIPS can be found in every house.

            Like most of the Hindu Festivals, Holi is also associated with different Mythological Legends. The foremost is the legend of demon King Hiranyakashyap who demanded everybody in his kingdom to worship him but his pious son, Prahlad became a devotee of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashyap wanted his son to be killed. He asked his sister Holika to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad in her lap, as Holika had a boon which made her immune to fire. Story goes that Prahlad was saved by lord Vishnu himself for his extreme devotion and evil minded Holika was burnt to ashes, for her boon worked only when she entered the fire alone.Since that time, people light a bonfire, called Holika on the eve of Holi festival and celebrate the victory of good over evil and also the triumph of devotion to god. To render greatfulness to Agni, god of Fire, gram and stalks from the harvest are also offered to Agni with all humility.

            Another legend related to Holi is that of POOTANA, an ogress who tried to feed Lord Krishna by its poisonous milk when he was an infant. Pootana wanted to kill Lord Krishna on the orders of KANSA, Krishna’s evil Uncle. However, Krishna sucked her blood till her death. According to the legends POOTANA represented Winter and thus, her death meant the end of Winter season.

            In South India, people worship Kaamadeva- the god of love and passion for his extreme sacrifice. According to a legend, Kaamadeva shot his powerful love arrow on Lord Shiva to revoke his interest in the worldly affairs in the interest of the earth. However, Lord Shiva was enraged as he was in deep meditation and opened his third eye which reduced Kaamadeva to ashes. Though, later on the request of Rati, Kaamadeva's wife, Shiva was pleased to restore him back.
            The next day of Holika Dahen, known as Dulhendi is the day when everyone plays colours. The day is declared as National Holiday so that everyone can enjoy this festival to the max. Bright colours of gulal and abeer fill the air and people take turns in pouring coloured water over each other. Children take special delight in spraying colours on one another with their pichkaris and throwing water balloons on the passers by. A lot of songs dedicated to Holi are played at a lot of places to fuel the spirit of Holi. It is said that the naughty and mischievous Lord Krishna started the trend of playing colours. He applied colour on her beloved Radha to make her one like him because he was dark textured. The trend soon gained popularity amongst the masses. No wonder, there is no match to the Holi of Mathura, Vrindavan and Barsana - the places associated with the birth and childhood of Radha and Krishna.

            After the whole day of colour play, in the evening people wear new clothes and go out to meet their relatives and friends to greet them and spend some time together. It is said that Holi is a festival that encourages the feeling of brotherhood and prosperity. It is a famous statement in India that on the day of Holi even enemies become friends.

            This festival thus creates a strong feeling of brotherhood in the society and strengthens the secular fabric of India.

THE FIRST POST

Hello to all my readers. As the title of my post clearly states this is my first post as a blogger so I beg your pardon for any mistakes in my post. I have written this post to just let you know who are the persons responsible for influencing me to become a blogger.

Since past few weeks there have been several incidents in my life that have really influenced me to start writing this blog. I always wanted to write and after getting influenced by these incidents I have decided to write this blog and overcome my UNKNOWN FEAR.

The main aim of writing this blog is to make you all i.e, my readers aware of the different art forms existing in this multifarious world. These forms may be related to any country, city specific or tribe, I will try to bring you all as much information about different art forms as I can. These art forms might be related to music, dance, painting or they might be tattoo making or sculptures. In my upcoming posts I will try to cover all such forms and many more.

The name ‘Art’s Aashiyana’ I chose for my blog has a special significance. The word Aashiyana is an URDU word meaning ‘Home or Nest’. Thus, the name ’Art’s Aashiyana’ means ‘Home Of Art and Artists’. This blog is entirely dedicated to the different art forms known globally or regionally. The main aim of this blog will be to uncover the history of the different art forms existing in this world.

In the end I would also like to request you all that please drop your comments for my every post as each of your comments are as precious to me as a diamond. I assure you that each of your suggestions will be implemented in my forthcoming posts. I hope you all will support me.