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Holi: Herbal colours in Vrindavan

          Vrindavan (Uttar Pradesh): Eco-friendly herbal colours will replace chemicals in this year's Holi, the festival of colours, in the temple town of Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh. Holi as it is called falls on Sunday and a temple in Vrindavan is campaigning for the use of eco-friendly herbal colours during the festival. The temple dedicated to Lord Krishna, the archetypal Hindu symbol of romance and incarnation of God, itself makes harmless dyes from flowers and distribute it among devotees coming to the temple. "We give this message through our temple that people should use natural colours to play Holi. God also used to play Holi with natural colours. The chemicals used in the colours nowadays are causing pollution. We always give the message to people from the temple to play Holi with natural colours," said Srinath Goswami, a priest of the temple. Most of the colours sold in markets are oxidised metals or industrial dyes and are harmful to skin. Slowly people are realizing the side effects of these colours like skin allergies to cancer, eye irritation and blindness. "Holi should be played with natural colours. Chemical colours can harm the eyes. It can also harm the skin. I have never heard the name of skin diseases which these chemical colours are causing these days," said Geeta, a devotee. Traditionally, the festival is known to have its roots in the celebration of the spring colours, as this is the time when the season is in full bloom in the subcontinent. The royals and the courtiers in olden times took the advice of traditional medicine men who concocted extracts of the season's fruits, flowers, roots, leaves and seeds to make colours. As awareness about the ill effects of artificial colours on skin and the environment sinks in, more and more people now want to play it safe.
- March 3, 2007

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