A festival of colours, Holi is joyous occasion for all. Essentially a Hindu festival, it is one of those festivals which go beyond all religious boundaries and encompasses within itself all the communities. No one is left out and no one is excluded.
Associated with one of the stories from Hindu mythology, Holi is celebrated as the triumph of good over evil. Prahlad, the son of the demon king Hiranyakashipu, was the devotee of Vishnu, much against his father's desires. So the demon king decided to burn him alive in order to prove that god did not exist. He took the help of his sister Holika who had the ability to come out of all fires unscathed. But when she sat on the pyre with Prahlad, in order to burn him, Prahlad started chanting the name of his god Vishnu. Vishnu saved the life of his devotee and instead of Prahlad, Holika was turned to ashes on the pyre.
The triumph of the goodness of Prahlad and the demise of Holika was celebrated with colours and joyous festivities. To this date, a pyre is burnt on the eve of Holi, which is called Holika Dahan.
On the day of Holi, people greet each other with colours, it could be a gentle smearing of coloured powder on the cheeks and forhead or it could be drenching the others with coloured water and in some cases forcible dunking in a pond or a puddle of water.
Like all festivals it is an occasion to go all out and enjoy with lots of fun and food. Different types of food are prepared on Holi and it is a day of enjoument for all. Celebrated in the spring season, it also marks the bounty of nature.
An intoxicant called Bhang is also consumed on Holi almost as a tradition. Bhang is available in a variety of forms -- it is mixed with other vegetables and deep-fried with a crust of dough to be eaten as pakoras or ground and mixed into a drink of milk, sugar and almonds. The net result is that in the forenoon of Holi, people go around in a state of exhilaration, displaying all the colours of the rainbow, greeting friends and even foes and total strangers with colour and good cheer, forgetting for the day the bitterness and hardship of life.
Regrettably, Holi is also accompanied by stray reports of abuse under the guise of liberties allowed on the day.

Where: North and east India.