many tourists have enquired about the famour lathmaar holi of barsana, nandgaon in vrindaavan this year 2012.
though i have written to many people who wish to visit this festival this year. they have enquired about the dates , this year, as the dates are always according to lunar calander.
this year the dates of lathmaar holi लठ्ठमार होली are 2nd and 3rd march. and the main festival is on 8th march, but should be reconfirmed as the actual date is sometime chage a day according to the calculation of stars by different styles in different sects of hindus. some times it is celebrated on two days.
my family lives in delhi, which is about 120 kilometer from brij / vrindaavan, which is the centre of festival , and is the birth place of lord krishna. so any body who is interested in knowing more, i am more then eager to help out if they write me on my email address; ashok.gupta4@gmail.com , or my phone no.:+91-9810890743 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +91-9810890743 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, and skype : ashok.gupta004 ,
regards
ashok gupta
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here is one good video link which will give you some idea about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&NR=1&v=fZuApVQV6BU
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recently some body sent me a link about the holi in utah, usa. it is worth wathing.:
देखिये एक अविस्मरणीय होली अमेरिका में :
holi in salt lake city, utah,usa.
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here is some information about holi and lathmaar holi :
in hindi this is called लठमार होली
i.e. lath means ; a bamboo stick
maar : to beat
Lathmar Holi
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Holi is one of the most ancient festivals in India. It was originally named as 'Holika’. It is celebrated in most of the parts of the country. The celebrations of Holi are full of immense zeal and fervor. It is also one of the most popular Indian festivals abroad. The celebrations of Holi differ from region to region, as if the Holi in Mathura and Vridavana, differs from those celebrated in Manipur, West Bengal and Orissa. It is said that the trend of colors and the modern form of Holi was introduced in Mathura and Vridavana by Lord Krishna himself and that is people of this region celebrate Holi religiously. One of the most famous kind of Holi celebrations in these areas are the ‘Lathmaar Holi’.
Lathmaar Holi is celebrated in Barsana, a small village at a distance of about 15 km from Vrindavan. It is known throughout India for its traditional Holi celebrations. No other city in the country can match the grandeur of the festival here. Barsana is actually the birth place of Lord Krishna's beloved and divine consort, Radha. This is also the place where Lord Krishna used to play pranks on his beloved and Gopis (Radha’s companion). This naughty festivity still reflects in the celebrations of Holi in this village. Holi here is regarded as the celebration of the divine love of Radha and Krishna.
According to the folklore and mythological tales, Krishna in one of his pranks, applied dark colors on the cheeks of Radha, as she was fairer than him. This initiated the tradition of celebrating Holi not only here but in the whole country. Following the tradition, men from Nandgaon, the place where Krishna spent his childhood and early days, come to play Holi with the women of Barsana. Here, women and girls welcome them not with colors, but with stout sticks.
All this takes place in pursuit of men, trying to put a flag on the temple dedicated to Radha Rani. To stop them from doing so, women beat them hard with sticks. Some of them are even made to wear saris and skirts, all in the spirit of the festival. On the other hand, men, knowing what awaits them, come fully padded, carrying shields to protect themselves. The sight of women beating men is electrifying. The environment echoes with the reverberating sound produced by the stick hammering the shields.
Lathmaar Holi is definitely an interesting Holi celebration, wherein men patiently face the charged womenfolk. This is considered the sweet revenge women take for the ancient pranks played by Lord Krishna on them. However, after all the women folk is tired and their game is over, it is now the chance for the men to reciprocate. They drench the women with the colors of kesudo (a natural dye) and palash, thereby balancing the deal. At the end of the day, the Holi celebrations at Barsana present an unforgettable life time experience, downed with the spirit of devotion and affection for the Lord.
Lathmaar Holi is celebrated in Barsana, a small village at a distance of about 15 km from Vrindavan. It is known throughout India for its traditional Holi celebrations. No other city in the country can match the grandeur of the festival here. Barsana is actually the birth place of Lord Krishna's beloved and divine consort, Radha. This is also the place where Lord Krishna used to play pranks on his beloved and Gopis (Radha’s companion). This naughty festivity still reflects in the celebrations of Holi in this village. Holi here is regarded as the celebration of the divine love of Radha and Krishna.
According to the folklore and mythological tales, Krishna in one of his pranks, applied dark colors on the cheeks of Radha, as she was fairer than him. This initiated the tradition of celebrating Holi not only here but in the whole country. Following the tradition, men from Nandgaon, the place where Krishna spent his childhood and early days, come to play Holi with the women of Barsana. Here, women and girls welcome them not with colors, but with stout sticks.
All this takes place in pursuit of men, trying to put a flag on the temple dedicated to Radha Rani. To stop them from doing so, women beat them hard with sticks. Some of them are even made to wear saris and skirts, all in the spirit of the festival. On the other hand, men, knowing what awaits them, come fully padded, carrying shields to protect themselves. The sight of women beating men is electrifying. The environment echoes with the reverberating sound produced by the stick hammering the shields.
Lathmaar Holi is definitely an interesting Holi celebration, wherein men patiently face the charged womenfolk. This is considered the sweet revenge women take for the ancient pranks played by Lord Krishna on them. However, after all the women folk is tired and their game is over, it is now the chance for the men to reciprocate. They drench the women with the colors of kesudo (a natural dye) and palash, thereby balancing the deal. At the end of the day, the Holi celebrations at Barsana present an unforgettable life time experience, downed with the spirit of devotion and affection for the Lord.
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one person recently asked from me about this holi: this is the copy of that communication:
dear leonar and miguel,
thanks for your letter to me. i have forgotten when and where , i mentioned about holi in lonely planet.
holi as you know is the festival of colors , celebrated throughout india, in each and every city and village.
but holi in vrindavan and barsana and nandgaon has a special flavour as there it is tradition that the ladies of those towns, all togethor beat the boys of other town with bamboo sticks. (of course not to harm them, as they have a dhaal made up of hard leather to protect them).
because these towns are the places where lord krishna was born and played, so it has a lot of spritual signifigance also. but because of this different style of holi which is called "lathmaar holi" a lot of tourist come there to watch this, (and do not worry , they do not become the part of this beating by wooden sticks)
i do not know how you knew about this, are you a person interested in hindu philosophy or just a curious tourist, from which country, but this will be a life time entertaining festival of colors in this part of india.
this place is only 120 kilometer from delhi. and we live in delhi, so if you really are interested, then it would be my pleasure to assist you in any manner you like.
many other my friends from germany, and usa are also coming as i used to live there.
the dates are 2nd and 3rd march for this lathmaar holi. and simple holi is on 8th march throught india.
on hearing from you, i can send you more information.
thanks and regards
ashok gupta
delhi, india
ph. +91-9810890743
- Hide quoted text -
On Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 3:00 AM, leonor suarez <lshevia@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello AshokI have read about you in the thorn tree forum of Lonely planet. We are thinking of going to India to attend Holi. I have read about the Holi in Basara and Laoungdeon, and also in Mathura and Vindravan. I do not know wich one is best, wich one is the most interesting. As I suppose you know it quite well, I would be very grateful if you could suggest us which one to attend. Also I am not sure the exact days of the holi. I have read they celebrate holi during some days but I suppose there is one day that is the best to attend. Could you please inform me about that?Thank you so much
Leonor & Miguel
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many times different tourists have enquired different questions about holi to me , directly and through my one time entry in lonely planet, here i am also giving those writings.
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