Holi is perhaps the least religious of Hindu festivals, but definitely the most colourful. The riotous celebrations involve throwing coloured powders at friends and family, giving the holiday its popular name Festival of Colours.
There are several legends behind the origins of this ancient religious festival. One theory is that the colourful ritual is based on the story of Lord Krishna's playful splashing of 'gopis' (wives and daughters of cowherds) with water, but it also celebrates the coming of spring. People throw coloured powder at each other to celebrate the Holi festival at a Temple in Siliguri Diptendu Dutta/AFP People celebrate Holi, the Festival of Colours, in Agartala, India Jayanta Dey/Reuters Hindu devotees take part in celebrations for the Holi festival at a Temple in Siliguri Diptendu Dutta/AFP A girl reacts as coloured water is thrown into her face while celebrating Holi in Mumbai Shailesh Andrade/Reuters Devotees are sprayed with coloured water at a temple in Ahmedabad Amit Dave/Reuters Children play with colours during Holi celebrations in Chennai Arun Sankar/AFP Boys smear each other with colors during Holi, the Festival of Colours, celebrations in Kolkata Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters A student covered in coloured powder celebrates Holi at Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters A girl shakes coloured powder out of her hair in Kolkata Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP A college student reacts as coloured powder is thrown into her face during Holi celebrations in Agartala Jayanta Dey/Reuters A woman covered in coloured powders attends a Holi event in Kolkata Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Students play with coloured powders as they celebrate Holi in Kolkata Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Children play with coloured water during Holi celebrations in Chennai, India Arun Sankar/AFP A reveller, smeared with coloured powder, gestures during Holi celebrations in Agartala, the capital of northeastern Indian state of Tripura Arindam Dey/AFP Revellers play with colours during celebrations for the Holi festival in Siliguri Diptendu Dutta/AFP A man holds a smoke flare while celebrating Holi, the festival of colours, in Delhi Cathal McNaughton/Reuters Women take part in Holi, the festival of colours, in Delhi Cathal McNaughton/Reuters A girl reacts as coloured powder is applied on her face in Mumbai Shailesh Andrade/Reuters A man celebrating the Hindu festival of Holi dumps a bucket of coloured water onto passengers travelling in a rickshaw in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh state AFP A young man is sprayed with coloured powders during Holi celebrations in Chennai Arun Sankar/AFP Youths take part in the colourful Holi celebrations in Chennai Arun Sankar/AFP Devotees covered with coloured powder carry an idol of Lord Krishna during Holi celebrations at a temple in Amritsar Narinder Nanu/AFP A child is covered in coloured powders in Chennai Arun Sankar/AFP Youths play with colours during Holi celebrations in Chennai Arun Sankar/AFP Students celebrate the Hindu festival of colours in Kolkata Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Bollywood actress Vidya Balan takes part in Holi celebrations in Mumbai during a promotional event for her upcoming film Begum Jaan AFP A student at Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar is covered in coloured powders during Holi celebrations Narinder Nanu/AFP Students take a selfie as they celebrate Holi with coloured powder at Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, India Narinder Nanu/AFP A schoolboy with his face smeared with coloured powder rides a bike in New Delhi Prakash Singh/AFP Hindu devotees decorate the ground around a traditional Holika bonfire made out of cakes of cow dung in Ahmedabad Sam Panthaky/AFP Hindu devotees walk around a traditional Holika bonfire during Holi in Ahmedabad Amit Dave/Reuters A man holding a child looks at a traditional bonfire made out of cakes of cow dung and coconuts in Ahmedabad Sam Panthaky/AFP
Being covered in colour brings relative anonymity, and in largely conservative India, this means Holi is a time when men and women and boys and girls can mingle with relative freedom. The city of Vrindavan in northern India is one of the few places where widows can celebrate Holi.
Indian tradition dictates that widows are barred from participating in any celebrations as their presence is considered ominous. Women whose husbands have died are often shunned by society and abandoned by their families. In Vrindavan, however, attitudes are changing, thanks to the work of Sulabh International, a non-profit organisation dedicated to improve the lives of widows. The campaign has been so successful that thousands of widows have flocked to Vrindavan, now known as "the city of widows".
A widows covered in coloured powder takes part in Holi celebrations in the town of Vrindavan Cathal McNaughton/Reuters Widows celebrate Holi at a temple in the town of Vrindavan in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh Cathal McNaughton/Reuters Widows take part in Holi celebrations in the town of Vrindavan in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh Cathal McNaughton/Reuters Indian widows lead the celebrations of the festival of colours at a temple in Vrindavan Dominique Faget/AFP Widows embrace during Holi celebration at Govinath temple in Vrindavan, India Dominique Faget/AFP A widow dances during celebrations for Holi in Vrindavan, India Dominique Faget/AFP
Holi is primarily observed in India and across the subcontinent, including Pakistan, where security was exceptionally tight around Hindu temples amid growing tensions. Non-Muslims make up only about three percent of the 190 million population of Muslim-majority Pakistan.
Children buy coloured powders and water pistols in Karachi, Pakistan Rizwan Tabassum/AFP Pakistani Hindu children celebrate Holi in Karachi Rizwan Tabassum/AFP Boys with their faces smeared in colours take part during celebrations of Holi at the Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Karachi, Pakistan Akhtar Soomro/Reuters