Go To:  Index File

Holi celebration at Durgiana temple in Amritsar
by Ravinder Singh Robin

          Amritsar: Thousands of Hindu devotees played Holi, the festival of colours, with Lord Krishna and Radha here at the famous Durgiana temple Arriving here from far off place of Punjab and other States, the huge number of devotees flocked to the Durgiana Temple to mark the big festival of colours inside temple's premises. According to Pandit Vyas, the priest in the temple, every year a religious procession is taken out inside the Durgiana Temple complex on the occasion of Holi festival, which was a favourite festival of Shri Krishna. "The Holi festival is being celebrated since ancient times by the Hindus. But here, we apply colours to the God. It means that the devotees coming here should be able enjoy smearing the special colour that has touched the God's feet. It is done so that all colours should form only one colour, which is Lord Krishna's colour and that cannot be covered by any other colour," said Pandit Vyas. Besides devotees, there were colourfully attired artistes dressed as Lord Krishna and Radha who besmeared each other with colours. Soon, devotees, making a beeline to to have a glimpse of Lord Krishna and Radha's idols inside the sanctum sanctorum, joined them in revelries. "The festival of Holi is significant because Lord Krishna and Radha played Holi on this day. We feel really good and wait for this day. We wish Holi could be celebrated everyday and we could play it," said Kamlesh Nanda, a Krishna dance artist. For devotees coming from various parts of the country, it was an experience too big to be narrated in words. Shipra, a Delhi tourist, said that visiting Durgiana Temple to play Holi with the Lord Krishna is an out of the world experience for the person of deep faith. "It feels ecstatic. I never thought before visiting Durgiana Temple the Holi festival could hold such a significance and a joy of lifetime. The temple has become all colourful which is looking nice and very captivating," said Shipra. Holi is a festival that is celebrated by one and all, irrespective of one's religious identity. People embrace each other in a joyous mood and throw colours and water.
- March 4, 2007

Previous File                                   Current File