Revelers add splash of color to annual festival

Holi is held across the world to celebrate triumph of good over evil

NEW DELHI - The Hindu festival of colors, which comes at the end of the winter season and marks the beginning of spring, exploded to life across the world on Monday.

In the Indian capital New Delhi, people of all ages threw colored powder and liquids at each other to mark the festival, known as Holi, which also signifies the victory of good over evil. For many it is a time to play, laugh and repair broken relationships.

"This is the time to smear each other with colors. It's the festival of love and togetherness when you forget the past," said Navin Chowdhury, a local resident, sipping a glass of thandai, a drink that is prepared specially for the festive day.

"It's the most energetic festival," he added.

Some of the biggest celebrations took place in Mathura and Vrindavan, two adjacent towns in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about 150 kilometers from the national capital. Mathura is the birthplace of Hindu god Krishna and Vrindavan is where he played Holi with his consort Radha.

"I held a pichkaari (water gun) and I just didn't want to stop. It's time to immerse in colors. It's like an explosion in a paint factory here," said Dhiraj Singh, a Delhi resident who went to Mathura to celebrate.

In Nepal, hundreds of thousands of people joined the celebrations in major parts of the capital city Kathmandu.

Holi sprang from the legend of a demon king called Hiranyakashyap, who asked everybody in his kingdom to worship only him. But his son, Prahlad, disobeyed and became a devotee of Hindu god Lord Naarayana instead.

Holi is celebrated to commemorate the escape of Prahlad, despite being carried into the fire by the demoness Holika, sister of Hiranyakashyap.

In India, on the day before Holi, people light bonfires to recall Prahlad's escape.

Holi derives its name from Holika.