Bhubaneswar: People of Odisha today celebrated the festival of colour ‘Holi’ with great fervour and festive spirit. Also known as “Dola Purnima” or “Basant Utsav” in Odisha, Holi is one of the major festivals.
Residents of the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Berhampur and various other places observed the festival with fun and frolic. They smeared each other with dry gulal and colours with full fervour and exchanged greetings.
People from across all walks of life irrespective of age, sex, religion and creed celebrated the festival as a mark of brotherhood. Streets adorned with scenes of people dipped in all kinds of colours.
“Holi is celebrated to mark the victory of good over bad. The festival comes once in a year and everybody should celebrate it with happiness,” said a reveller.
“This is the festival of love and unity and inspires everyone to maintain brotherhood and harmony in society. We are playing with organic colours and enjoying the festival,” said another reveller.
Holi has a special significance in Hindu tradition. As per mythology, the day is associated with the story that Lord Krishna used to play with colours along with the Gopis and Radha. Holi falls a day after the full moon day of Phalguna month in Hindu calendar. It is also celebrated as a thanksgiving for a good harvest.
On the other hand, the Commissionerate Police has made elaborate arrangements to prevent unruly behaviour of revellers and sale of harmful chemical colours in the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. The police have also issued an advisory to ensure safe and incident-free Holi celebrations.
The Twin City Police has asked the revellers to refrain from rash driving and warned of stern action against those found violating traffic norms.