I have been in India during Holi, It is pretty wild! I was taking a photo walk when a group of young men saw me...the results can be seen on the picture below all the way to the right (don't wear anything nice, as the powder is often cut or made from ingredients containing sugars, what a mess! I ended up just throwing away the T i was wearing).

The celebration lasts for several days, throughout the entire day. We were in a somewhat rural part of India and we had to eat at our guesthouse for every meal, several days in a row. Nonstop drumming, drinking, dancing, partying.

If you are a western girl, I would not recommend going out and walking alone. Find an escort or a big group of friends to go with you. Indian men can be a little overly friendly at times so take caution.

Posted Jan 20, 2012

I have wanted to go to this for years!!

Posted Jan 20, 2012

I was in Hampi for the holi festival a couple of years back, and it had to be one of the days of my trip. Everyone was so full of giant smiles, laughter and energy; kids everywhere blasting everything in sight with all the colors of the rainbow.

I shared a highlight here: http://www.afar.com/users/aaron-king/trips/india--3#highlight_holi-festiveal

Posted Jan 20, 2012

Have been there twice now - dates change yearly, so you have to watch the calendar.  It's an amazing time = whether you are in a small town or a big city . . . but definitely go with someone (preferably a local) and if you photograph, make sure you bring a plastic bag to cover your camera - and have the person accompanying you yell off would be water/color throwers!  after around 11 am, people do start to get rowdy - drunk - so you can monitor when it's a good time to pull back! 

Posted Jan 23, 2012

I've been to Holi - in Spanish Fork, Utah. I know it sounds off the wall but it's the biggest Festival of Colors in the Americas. They had fifty thousand people last year.

I'm going back this weekend. The festival is sponsored by the Sri Sri Radha Krishna temple. There's music and it varies in mood and tone and energy and then there';s this countdown and as the count hits one you feel this ripple of excitement across the crowd and then the air is all the colors, it's like being engulfed by the colors of spring. And people are cheering and laughing. And everyone looks different - suddenly you're not "you" anymore. There's this wonderful color everywhere it has covered you. It's liberating and freeing and the band is chanting "Hare Krishna, Hare hare hare, Hare Rama, Hare hare hare" and you feel as if everyone is in sync with this great and joyous mood.

And you get home and look in the mirror and you don't look the like the same person or feel like the same person. And the best part is Spanish Fork is only a 45 minute drive from home.

Posted Mar 22, 2012