Surjit Singh Flora
This year, Holi will be celebrated on March 25, 2024, which is Monday. Holi is a festival of colors that is celebrated with great enthusiasm by the Sikh and Hindu communities in India and across the world. Sikh communities celebrate it under the name Hola Mohalla. It takes place one day after the Hindu festival of Holi, according to a tradition established by Guru Gobind Singh; Hola is the masculine form of the feminine sound Holi.
The word “Mohalla” is derived from the Arabic root (to rise, descend) and is a Punjabi word denoting an organized procession in the form of a military column. But unlike Holi, when people playfully sprinkle colored powder, dry or mixed with water, on each other, the Guru made the Hola Mohalla an opportunity for Sikhs to display their martial skills in mock battles.
Together, the words “Hola Mohalla” mean “fake battle.”. During this festival, processions are taken out in the form of military-type columns accompanied by war drums and standard-bearers and move from one place or from one gurdwara to another gurdwara. This custom dates back to the time of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, who organized the first such mock battle at Anandpur in February 1701.
The hills of the Shivalik, especially around the historic towns of Anandpur Sahib and Kiratpur Sahib in the Ropar district of the northeastern region of Punjab, have been hosting Hola Mohalla since 1701. Recently, the Government of India has given it the status of a national festival. The military exercise, personally supervised by the Guru, took place as a backdrop to the famous Hindu temple of Mata Naina Devi in Shivalik on the bed of the Charan Ganga river.
This annual festival was held at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab and is now repeated in other Gurdwaras around the world. It was started by the tenth guru as a gathering of Sikhs for military exercises and mock battles on the day after the festival of Holi at Anandpur Sahib. It reminds people of valor and defensive preparations, the tenth Guru’s cherished concepts that were protecting the Sikhs from the attacks of the Mughal Empire and the hill kings at that time.
On the occasion of this three-day festival, after prayers, a music and poetry competition, an armor exhibition, a weapons exhibition, etc. are conducted. Participants perform daring feats such as gatka (mock combat with real weapons), tent pegging, bare-back horse riding, standing on two galloping horses and many other feats of bravery.
Holi, on the other hand, is an ancient Hindu religious festival that has become popular among non-Hindus as well as people from many parts of South Asia as well as other communities outside Asia. Apart from India, the festival is celebrated by diaspora from the Indian subcontinent in countries such as Jamaica, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Mauritius and Fiji. In recent years, the festival has spread to parts of Europe and North America as a springtime celebration of love, joy and color.
The night before Holi, people congregate, conduct religious rites in front of the fire, and hope that their inner evil will be destroyed, like Holika, the sister of the demon king Hiranyakashyap, who was burned. People throw color on each other during Holi the following morning. They also play with water pistols and balloons. All are fair game, friend or stranger, wealthy or poor, man or woman, kid or elderly. Colors clash in parks, temples, streets, and buildings. Drummers and other musicians travel, sing, and dance. Family, friends, and foes fling powder, laugh, chat, and enjoy Holi food and beverages. Some traditional drinks include addictive cannabis. People prepare for dinner parties and visits with friends and family after a night.
But color adulteration is damaging to skin health nowadays. Which requires caution. Use only safe, natural colors from flowers, vegetables, or other organic things. Chemical colors and heavy metal dyes may cause skin sensitivities, eye irritation, and other health issues.
Guard your eyes. Protect your eyes from colors and water using sunglasses or glasses. Wash your eyes with clean, cold water if any color gets in.
Stay hydrated: Stay hydrated throughout the day, particularly if you’re playing outdoors in the heat. Be respectful and don’t make them play Holi if they don’t want to.
Maintain your nails, hair, and skin. Nails may also weaken from water and synthetic colors. Dye-contaminated water breeds germs.
This may cause a fungal or bacterial nail infection with discoloration, swelling, or discomfort.
(The writer is a veteran journalist and freelance writer based in Brampton).