SUMMARY
Holi 2025 is just around the corner and people can barely hold back their enthusiasm. While the ‘festival of colours’ is celebrated across India, the celebration is much more mainstream in some states. While Holi’s popularity is unarguably at its best in northern India, it is also observed with great fervour in the other regions. Here’s a look at how some of states celebrate the festival of colours.
1 / 7Uttar Pradesh | Holi celebrations throughout Uttar Pradesh are known not just for the sheer scale of the festivities but also for the overall joy and happiness associated with them. Besides the usual ‘gulaal’, Uttar Pradesh is also popular for a number of traditional and unique Holi celebrations in and around key temple towns and other areas of cultural significance. (Image: Reuters)
2 / 7The various Holi celebrations across the Braj region in UP interest foreign and domestic tourists alike. Be it the famed Lathmar Holi in Barsa and Nandgaon, the Phoolonwali Holi in Vrindavan, or the highly popular Mathura Holi, the various traditional Holi celebrations throughout Braj is sure to give you some unforgettable memories if you plan to visit the region for Holi 2025.(Image: Shutterstock)
3 / 7Rajasthan | Holi is also celebrated with great fervour across Rajasthan. However, a particular Holi celebration stands out from the rest. “Udaipur Holi”, as the name suggests, is a spectacular celebration of colours, cultural performances, dance, and music in the city of Udaipur. (Image: Shutterstock)
4 / 7Haryana | Holi, like other states in northern India, is also celebrated in grand fashion across Haryana. Owing to a regional variance in the naming of the festival, Holi is known as “Dulandi” in Haryana. While people in the state enjoy all the usual traditions of Holi — like applying colours and dancing to the tunes of popular Holi songs till the atmosphere around them is overwhelmed with joy — there is also a light-hearted twist to the festival specific to Haryana. As per the tradition, women get a free pass on Holi to beat their ‘devars’ (brothers-in-law) as a payback for all the pranks played by the latter over the past year. (Image: Shutterstock)
5 / 7West Bengal | Contrary to popular perception, Holi is also celebrated with unmatched levels of enthusiasm in West Bengal. Both Bengalis and non-Bengalis indulge in the festivities by playing with colours, dancing, singing and enjoying ‘thandai’. (Image: Reuters)
6 / 7Bihar | Holi isn’t any different in Bihar. People across generations enjoy the day to the fullest. Folk songs and popular Bollywood tracks make the festival even more cheerful. Like UP and other states, ‘Bhang’ is also widely consumed in Bihar on the occasion. (Image: Reuters)
7 / 7Maharashtra | In Maharashtra, Holi is popularly known as “Rang Panchami”. Besides the usual practices of playing with colours, and singing and dancing, people across the state also enjoy the consumption of traditional sweets on Rang Panchami. (Image: Shutterstock)
