Holi colours come alive in Karachi

Festival of colours observed amid bhajans, prayers, dancing and jubilation

KARACHI: The colourful festival of Holi was marked amid bhajans, prayers, dancing and jubilance in Karachi on Sunday as young girls threw colour in the air and children fought playfully with guns filled with coloured water.

Children play Holi at Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir. PHOTO: AYESHA MIR

A large number of men and women applied colour on each other at the Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir.

“Holi is commonly known as the festival of colours alone but it is much more than that,” said a devotee at the temple, Dr Permanand.

People throw colours on each other at Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir. PHOTO: AYESHA MIR

He explained that they also set an effigy of demon Holika on fire on the first day, burn dry fruits and other pulses in the fire and make Rangoli at the entrance of their houses while different prayers are recited by married and unmarried girls for their future lives. Women also fast on the day to pray for wealth in their families, he said.



A woman applies colour on a man's face during Holi at Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir. PHOTO: AYESHA MIR

Preparing bhojan [food] for the devotees who will visit the temple for prayers all night, the head of the temple, Arjun Maharaj, told The Express Tribune that Holi is celebrated as Holika was defeated, which signifies the victory of good over evil. He explained that Holi is played with colours from 6am till 6pm, adding that the prasad is only halwa, biryani and mithai.

A child smiles as colour is applied to her face during Holi at Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir. PHOTO: AYESHA MIR

The festival lasts for two days and Holi is played with colours after the Holika Dahan, the burning of Holika’s effigy. Devotees take rounds around the effigy, commonly known as phairay. Even the married couples repeat their rounds to make their marriage bond stronger.

The festival lasts for two days and Holi is played with colours after the Holika Dahan, the burning of Holika's effigy. PHOTO: AYESHA MIR

After the night of Holika Dahan, women living around the temple collect the ashes in the early hours of the day and release them into the sea, explained one of the devotees, Kavita Kumari.



A devotee, Babeeta Kumari, who has been visiting the Shri Lakshmi Narayan temple every year since her childhood, believes that they feel happy to celebrate Holi freely in Pakistan and never felt like a minority in the country.

A child plays with a water gun during Holi at Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir. PHOTO: AYESHA MIR

“This is the most celebrated festivity of Hindus in Karachi,” said another devotee, Dakshna, who came to celebrate Holi with her granddaughters.