Make Holi Fun: Use Herbal Colors

Holi, also called the Festival of Colors, is a popular Hindu spring festival observed in India, Guyana, Trinidad, the UK and Nepal. In West Bengal, Holi is also known as Dolyatra or Boshonto Utsav ("spring festival").

The festival begins by burning of the demoness Holika, Hiranyakashipu's sister, in huge bonfires at night. The next morning is the time to rejoice and celebrate. People move out of their houses to play Holi by throwing colored powder and water at each other. They greet each other and eat lots of mouth-watering delicacies, such as Gujiya, papad, sweets, and various other items that are a treat for everyone's taste buds. A special drink called thandai is prepared, sometimes containing bhang.

The day passes off in celebration and rejoice. It is only the next day that we get to see the newspaper full of heart-breaking news like a five year boy lost his eye-sight while playing Holi, many children developed temporary blindness, some people complaining about severe rashes all over their bodies, and so on. These are some of the harmful effects of playing Holi with chemically produced industrial dyes.

Gone are the days when people used to play Holi with natural colors and flowers. Now synthetically produced colors are being used to play Holi. These colors are associated with severe health hazards. The black pastes used in Holi is found to contain lead oxide which can result in renal failure. Silver color contains aluminium bromide and is found to be carcinogenic. Red color, on the other hand, contains mercury sulphate. The prussian blue used in the blue paste has been associated with contact dermatitis, while the copper sulphate in the green has been documented to cause eye allergy, puffiness and temporary blindness.

The colorants used in the dry colors, also called gulals, was found to be toxic, with heavy metals causing asthma, skin diseases and temporary blindness. Both of the commonly used bases in gulals—asbestos or silica—are associated with health issues.

Have we completely forgotten the meaning of the festival of Holi? Or have we turned insensitive towards others and even our own self? Holi is the festival when even the enemies unite and become friends again, and we are making this festival our own enemy. Colors, which are meant to spread brightness and joy all around, are being used to take away all the light and joy from someone's life. This is not what Holi is all about. Just ponder on this for a few minutes.

If you think that you want your Holi to be a festival of joy, start using natural colors. Herbal colors are safe for playing Holi and also have a medicinal significance. The colors are traditionally made of Neem, Kumkum, Haldi, Bilva, and other medicinal herbs prescribed by Āyurvedic doctors. So, no skin disease, no asthma, no temporary blindness, and no bad news on Holi this time. Play Holi with herbal colors.