Holi by RWCS
The festival of colours was kicked off with a wonderful Holika Dahan program organised by RWCS on 13th March 2025 on the lawns. A beautiful stage was put up on one side of the lawns outside Gangotri Hall and chairs were lined up with a beautiful statue put on one side. At the other end of the Gangotri Hall was a huge pile of wood, all prepped for Holika Dahan.
Since the mahurat for Holika Dahan was 11:30 pm, a cultural program was organised from 9 PM. As always, the impeccable Savita Saxena opened the program, explaining the importance of Holika Dahan. This was followed by a speech by Govind Sharma, RWCS President. The dance troupe presented a mesmerising show, featuring old Bollywood Holi songs. This was followed by a dance show showcasing how Holi is celebrated in different states of the country. The surprise of the show was ’holi ke geet’ which was sung by Savita, Aarti Sibal, Neha Sharma, Neha Bansal and Sangeeta. Such was the energy and the atmosphere that many of the crowd left their seats and started dancing near the stage. As if on cue, the dance troupe presented the much- awaited ’phoolon ki holi’ with a dance of Radha- Krishna playing Holi with flowers and colours.
As flower petals and gulal rained on those present, a wonderful warmth filled the heart at the wonderous bonhomie.
At 11:30 pm, the pandit ji started the pujan around a large pile of wood that represents Holika. Even at this late hour, there was a large gathering of residents, with many ladies carrying thalis. Gobar ke uple (cow dung cakes) and wood were placed around the fire and many ladies also lit a diya as they worshipped. Residents roasted bushels of hara chana (green gram) and genhu ki bali (wheat stems) as they did parikarma around the holy fire. As the flames of Holika Dahan grew higher, people widened the perimeter around the fire as they did parikrama. The warmth of the holy fire had all greeted each other with many youngsters seen touching the feet of elders and hugs were seen all around. May the colours of Holi fill everyone’s hearts and homes.
