Millions of Indians celebrated the Hindu Holi festival on Monday, dancing, exchanging food and drink and covering one another with powder, turning the air into a joyful kaleidoscope of colour.
Widely known as the Hindu festival of colours, Holi marks the arrival of the spring season in India, Nepal and other South Asian countries as well as the diaspora.
Across the country, people — some dressed in all white — celebrated the festival by drenching one another in coloured powder while others flung water balloons filled with coloured pigment from balconies.
Some used squirt guns to chase down fellow revellers in parks and others danced on the streets to music blaring from speakers.
Vendors in parts of India sold Thandai — a traditional beverage prepared with milk and dry fruits and can sometimes be laced with cannabis.
Another Holi tradition is Bhang, a paste made by grinding the leaves of the cannabis plant and is used in drinks and snacks.
The paste’s sale and consumption are permissible under Indian law, although a few states have banned it.
In parts of India, people also lit large bonfires the night before the festival to commemorate the triumph of good over evil.
Last week, in preparation for the festival, hundreds of women in two northern towns celebrated by playfully hitting men with wooden sticks in response to their teasing as part of a ritual.
Known as the “Lathmar Holi” (Stick Holi), it attracts a large number of visitors.
