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Prahlada disagreed with his father and was devoted to Vishnu, a Hindu god. This angered his father and he subjected him to cruel punishments, but they did not affect him. Holika, Prahlada's evil aunt, tricked him into sitting on a pyre with her. Holika was wearing a cloak that made her immune to fire. The cloak flew from Holika onto Prahlada, who survived while Holika burned. Vishnu appeared and killed Hiranyakashipu. Holi is celebrated as a festival of triumph of good over evil because of this. -
There are many mythologies of when holi started. One of which being the death of Prahlada, son of Hiranyakashipu. He was a king of the demonic Asuras, and had earned a boon that gave him five powers: he could be killed by neither a human being nor an animal, neither indoors nor outdoors, neither at day nor at night, neither by astra nor by any shastra, and neither on land nor in water or air. Hiranyakashipu grew arrogant, and thought he was God, and demanded that everyone worship only him. -
Krishna once talked to his mother Yashoda about the injustice that caused Radha to be so fair when he was so dark. To calm the weeping young Krishna, his adoring mother instructed him to go paint Radha's face in any color he desired. In a mischievous mood, Krishna followed mother Yashoda's advice and painted her beloved Radha's face, making her look like him. Somehow, the lovable prank of Krishna where he applied colour on Radha and it gained popularity so much that it became a tradition. -
The prank turned into a full on festival. The use of colours and pichkaris is now a part of Holi. People long to apply the colour on their beloveds face to express their affection for each other. This is brought to life every year as people celebrate the immortal love of Radha and Krishna and the coming of spring and new beginnings. -
After all the love and popularity bloomed from Radha and Krishna, a show was developed of their eternal love. It is based off the life of Hindu deities Radha and Krishna. This show is more about the representation of the love of the gods, than the actual holi festival itself. This isn't the first time a part of Hinduism has been represented in the media. -
The Holi celebration in the film industry was initiated by Raj Kapoor, who started Holi celebration at his studio. A large number of industry people would gather there and play holi, making it a star-studded event. The tradition that followed was that anybody who came would first be greeted with a dip in the pool of coloured water. Holi at RK Studio continues to be an event to watch in Mumbai as the next generation of Kapoors have made it a point to continue with the tradition. -
Holi is widely celebrated all over the globe. It has become a big celebration over the years. This cultural expression gets brought to life every year, with two days of celebration. The night before is known as Holika Dahan (burning of Demon Holika) and the following day as Holi where there is colour and love. This celebration has grown over time. It now has media representation to teach people about the celebration. There is also shows about the gods involved in the creation of the celebration.