NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of Indians celebrated Monday the Hindu Holi festival, dancing to festive music, exchanging food and drinks and smearing one another with pink, inexperienced, blue and pink powder, turning the air right into a joyful kaleidoscope of colour.

Widely often called the Hindu competition of colours, Holi marks the arrival of the spring season in India, Nepal and different South Asian nations in addition to the diaspora. It celebrates the divine love between the Hindu god Krishna and his consort Radha, and signifies a time of rebirth and rejuvenation, embracing the optimistic and letting go of damaging power

Across the nation, folks — some wearing all white — celebrated the competition by drenching each other in coloured powder whereas others flung water balloons stuffed with coloured pigment from balconies. Some used squirt weapons to chase down fellow revelers in parks, and others danced on the streets to music blaring from audio system.

Another custom that marks Holi is Bhang, a paste made by grinding the leaves of the hashish plant and is utilized in drinks and snacks. It is related to Hinduism, notably to Lord Shiva, and is eaten throughout some religious festivals within the area. The paste’s sale and consumption are permissible underneath Indian regulation, though a number of states have banned it.

In elements of India, folks additionally lit massive bonfires the evening earlier than the competition to commemorate the triumph of excellent over evil.

Last week, in preparation for the competition, lots of of ladies in two northern cities celebrated by playfully hitting men with wooden sticks in response to their teasing as a part of a ritual. Known because the “Lathmar Holi” (Stick Holi), it attracts numerous guests.