While some people throw water balloons and some love to smear others with colors, in Jaipur, people play Holi with something unique and distinctive. They use gulal gota to play Holi.
So what is gulal gota, and how is it made?
Approximately 300 years back, Maharaja Jai Singh started this tradition of playing Holi with gulal gotta when balloons were not even invented. He hired some lac jewelry makers, and they made this gulal gotta with lac resin. It’s soft and harmless to the body.
To make this unique thing, first, some lac is heated over coals. Any color can be added to this to make it even more attractive. After heating it till it’s soft and moldable, it is kneaded with stone. Then a small quantity of lac, approximately 2 to 3 gm, is taken and kept at the base of a blowpipe sort of instrument, and air is gently blown through the mouth of this pipe while rotating it continuously and shaping it. It is then immersed in water to cool it down and kept aside for air drying. Once dry, it is filled with a natural gulal made of carrot and natural colors and sealed with a thin paper.
So if you don’t like to dirty your own hands and yet want to color your friends, all you have to do is grab a gulal gotta and throw it.
