Marking the arrival of spring season, India celebrates Holi spraying one another with vibrant colours. The festival brings various communities together, where they sing and dance and pull colourful pranks on each other. While each state has its own ritual to mark the event, the common theme mostly is about bringing in communal harmony.
The night before Holi, bonfires are lit in a ceremony known as the Holika dahan. This is also known as choti Holi. Symbolically, it is a celebration of the victory of good over evil.
The next day, Holi, known as Dhuli, is celebrated with gaiety and joy; lively colours are sprinkled everywhere.
Photo:
EMMANUAL YOGINI
People celebrate Holi with a colourful extravaganza in Mumbai on Tuesday, March 03, 2026.
Photo:
EMMANUAL YOGINI
People bring out their pichkaris to splash colours on each other in Mumbai on Tuesday, March 03, 2026.
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VIJAY SONEJI
Devotees celebrate the festival of colours at Kalupur Swaminarayan Temple, old city of Ahmedabad, on Wednesday, March 04, 2026.
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SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Children apply Gulal on each other as they celebrate the colourful festival in West Delhi on Wednesday, March 4, 2026.
Photo:
PERIASAMY M
People play with colours in Coimbatore on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. A two-day festival, Holi is celebrated on the day after the full moon in early March. It marks the spring harvest and is also known as Vasant Mahotsav.
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SIDDHANT THAKUR
Devotees being sprayed with coloured powder at Balkrishna Mandir in Begum Bazar, as worshippers gather in prayer and festivity in Hyderabad on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.
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BISWARANJAN ROUT
A man covered with vibrant colours even before the day of Holi, in the daily market area in Bhubaneswar on March 2, 2026.
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G. RAMAKRISHNA
People play with colours at Begum Bazar in Hyderabad on Monday, March 2, 2026.
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NAGARA GOPAL
Guinness World Record holding mini-car designer Sudhakar unveiling Holi Pichkari car in Hyderabad on Monday, 02, 2026.
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SIDDHANT THAKUR
Students celebrate Holi with music and dance at the Arts College, Osmania University, in Hyderabad on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.
Photo:
R.K. Nithin
Participants celebrate Holi and dance to festive beats, as celebrations were organised by Rajasthan Pravasi Sangh at Maharaja’s College Ground in Ernakulam on Tuesday, March 03, 2026.
Photo:
EMMANUAL YOGINI
A spectacle of colours in Mumbai on Tuesday, March 03, 2026.
Photo:
PERIASAMY M
People play with colours on the occasion of Holi in Coimbatore on Wednesday, March 04, 2026.
Photo:
PTI
A man performs with fire as people celebrate Holi at the Anandeshwar Temple at Parmat Ganga Ghat, in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on March 4, 2026.
Published – March 04, 2026 03:04 pm IST
