Kumaoni Holi in Uttarakhand: A Musical Holi Like No Other

Do you love colors or music? If you love both, witness the musical Kumaoni Holi!

Uttarakhand, well-known for its misty mountains, becomes live during this time when winter starts loosening its grip on the lives and actions of people living here. The weather here is still cool and chilly, but the valleys become lively during the Pahadi Holi celebration.

Uttarakhand Holi: A Journey from Calm to Celebration

Typically, Kumaoni Holi is not an ordinary Holi celebration where people start fighting with colors with the loud sound of drums and prayers immediately. Here, the Pahadi Holi celebration picks up its pace gradually. 

As the day begins, you can hear a soft, clear sound in the softly lit temples here. There are only a few voices singing songs in praise of Lord Krishna. However, as hours pass, this sound grows louder with more people joining in. It is further highlighted by the strong sound of the drums.

Slowly, the entire land gets involved in celebrating the Uttarakhand Holi festival and comes alive with songs, music, and dance. 

It starts slowly with the traditional rhythm that makes it feel like the mountains are moving with the music. Slowly, it begins to become loud and the melodious songs become loud cheers, the rhythmic dance becomes a fever almost like chaos, but the joy always blends with love and devotion. This is what makes the Uttarakhand Holi festival so unique.

The Welcome Song

While the night is still cold, long before the actual day of Holi, family members come together inside the warm wooden houses and sit in a circle, clapping and singing the songs that they have learnt from their parents and grandparents. The melodious sounds of the harmonium and table, concerted beautifully with the claps of the hands fill the entire room. These songs are typically sung by people during Baithaki Holi. This actually marks the beginning of Kumaoni Holi.

The voices are low in the beginning but start rising as time passes creating loud melodious sound waves. The songs talk about different stories related to Lord Krishna, about Holi and the joy, and also the arrival of spring. The sound waves float over the valleys outside while the moon watches it moving slowly. 

This is not a one-time or a one-house affair. Such gatherings happen in almost every home for several nights. It is also seen in several temple courtyards and even in the village squares. This is the beginning of the celebration. It gets everyone ready for the big music event of the Kumaoni festival.

The Khadi Holi

The second stage of the Kumaoni festival involves the Khadi Holi where the streets come alive one particular morning when everything changes dramatically. The hills break their silence and start dancing to the loud drum beats. People step out onto the streets from the four walls of their wooden homes and start singing songs loudly, dressed traditionally in colorful turbans and white dresses. Walking in large groups, they sing and dance to the drum beats while clapping and laughing all the way.

Khadi Holi is all about songs, dance, and rhythms spreading from the temples to the villages, moving through the hills and valleys. Everyone becomes part of this Pahadi Holi which is unique as songs and dances dominate the celebration. Colors are used only to rub gently on the faces and not thrown in the air.

Celebration of Women

Women celebrate Uttarakhand Holi in style and grace. It is a special occasion typically organized in the temples and courtyards. Women dress in the best traditional clothes and gather here clapping and singing Holi songs in perfect harmony. As their voices rise, they start swaying to the tune.

Women or Mahila Holi does not involve loud processions. It is more of grace and style and full of laughter, joy, and warmth where they sing different songs praising Lord Krishna, the Kumaoni Holi festival, friendship, and love. There are no colors thrown in the air.

Ideally, it is a heartfelt celebration and great-grandmothers, grandmothers, and mothers are involved in it.

Holika Dahan

The final day of the Kumaoni festival involves burning a large bonfire in the center of the village. People gather around the glaring and crackling fire reaching and lighting up the sky. This marks Holika Dahan, the moment of burning evil and a new beginning of good fortune. Women sing the last ritual songs of the Kumaoni festival and elders bless the young one for prosperity and happiness.

The last notes fade and the music mellows down as the fire dies. It leaves silence and memories behind as the Uttarakhand Holi ends. People return to their homes only to come back next year with renewed energy!