Widow's Endorphins: Holi, India's Festival of Colour

Toronto is bracing for a severe late Winter storm, with up to 20cm of white powder (that's nearly 8 inches)! Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, the people of India are celebrating Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colour, with a rainbow blizzard of coloured powders and street dancing.

You've probably seen it depicted in wildly choreographed Bollywood movies, and not known exactly what it's all about. Starting with bonfires during last night's full moon, the two day festival is a celebration of the end of Winter and beginning of Spring; of the triumph of good over evil. It is a time to forgive, and let go. Really let go! Dance in the streets! Throw coloured powder in the air, covering friends and strangers in bright yellow, pink, red, green, blue and purple; and then, toss water balloons!

The creative wild child in me loves the idea of running through "snowflakes" of pink, purple and yellow. The neat freak and hypochondriac are hyper-ventilating. What happens if you breathe in all that powder? Does it harm the skin? Does it wash off? Is your hair going to stay green? What's the street cleanup like the next day?

Even non-toxic powder made from cornstarch and/or rice flour will still cause eye, ear, nose, throat and lung irritation if you run through a thick cloud of it. What's worse, some powders have been found to have finely ground glass and mica in them. People have reported stinging red eyes, and a sensation of having sunburned nostrils for days afterwards. Some have developed asthma.

The recipe for non-toxic, homemade Holi powder is simple:

1 Cup cornstarch (or rice flour)

1/2 Cup water

Few drops of food colouring

Mix the cornstarch and water to form a paste. Add the food colouring, and blend thoroughly. Roll into a ball, then, using a rolling pin, flatten into a disc shape. Leave to dry overnight. When it is dry, and cracked, put the disc into a coffee grinder, and pulverize it into a fine powder. Or, put the disc between layers of wax paper, and crumble it, using the rolling pin.

Once upon a time, colours were derived from plants. Industrial age dyes, are very bright. While dyes sold in North America are non-toxic, that is not the case in India. Many chemical dyes, now illegal in other parts of the world, are sold in shops all over India. The toxic dyes are made of such things as lead oxide (for black), which causes disorientation and kidney damage; Mercury Sulphite (for red), which causes disorientation, skin and eye irritation; and highly corrosive Aluminum Bromide (for silver), which causes skin, eye and lung irritation.

The solution is to Go Green! Non-toxic, organic alternatives are now being promoted in India. Historically, beet juice was used to produce a deep magenta colour. Sandalwood creates a red colour, and pink is created by adding wheat flour. Green leafy vegetables create - you guessed it - green. Henna will give a deep orange colour, and Turmeric is used to create a deep yellow. None of these natural dyes will harm soil or water as they drain off during cleanup, and on a dry day, the wind just blows the powder away.

Once the party is over, it seems the entire country is showering and moisturizing. Some stains take longer to remove. To avoid this, there are things which Holi festival goers are advised to do before heading out into the streets. In addition to sunscreen, celebrants are advised to apply coconut oil, olive oil, or Vitamin E all over their face, and any exposed skin. They're told to make sure the oil covers the earlobes, and the area behind the ears, as well as nails. Hair is protected with coconut oil, or mustard oil. Goggles are also advised. I would go a step further, and add an N95 mask to prevent breathing in contaminants!

One blogger warned photographers to cover their cameras with a plastic bag, or a raincover. Another photographer said that he removed all of the powder from his camera, by using the air hose at a local garage.