Hindu Community celebrates Holi festival

Colours for Holy festival

DHAKA, March 8 – Hindu community members on Tuesday celebrated Holi, a religious festival of colours, across the country with much enthusiasm and religious fervour.

The festival signifies the victory of good over evil, the arrival of spring, end of winter, and for many a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, forget and forgive, and is also celebrated as a thanksgiving for a good harvest.

The festival, also known as Dol Purnima (full moon day), began in the morning and continued till afternoon. It also lasts for two days starting on the Purnima in several parts of the country.

As a ritual in celebration of the festival, the devotees visited the shrines, temples and offered colours (abir) at the feet of Idol of the God Sri Krishna and Goddess Sri Radhika.

Abir Khela, a significant part of the festival, means throwing of abir, a kind of perfumed and pink coloured powder and different other colorful powders by revelers on each other making festival-goers coated in colour, was also taken place in temples to make the extravaganza enthusiastic.

In accordance with mythology, Dol Purnima, also known as Dol Jatra or Holi, is regarded as the festival of the believers of Boishnobism.

In Dhakeshwari National Temple, Mahanagar Sarbajanin Puja Committee organized worshiping and Kirton (devotional songs) in the morning. Abir was offered at the feet of idols of Radha Krishna and Chaitanyadeb. Devotees also offered the Abir to god and goddess.

Besides, the festival was celebrated at different temples across the country, including capital Dhaka.

Marking the festival, the surroundings of Dhakeswari Temple wore a festive look as hundreds of youths celebrated the festival with different colors.

At Dhakeswari temple and Jagannath Hall, students were seen celebrating the festival colouring the fellow devotees and taking their photographs and selfies.

The festival has been introduced marking an auspicious day when Sri Krishna, Sri Radhika and their friends were playing with Abir at Brindaban in the ancient days.

The festival is known as Dol Jatra in many states in India including West Bengal, Tamilnadu (Madras), Orissa and North, West and Middle regions of India.

Holi or Dol Jatra is also celebrated in neighbouring Nepal. - BSS