Students play with colours ahead of Holi festival, at KG Marg on March 12, 2025 in New Delhi, India.Getty Images
Millions of Indians are celebrating Holi, the festival of colours.
The spring festival symbolises the victory of good over evil and marks the end of winter.
People light a bonfire, smear or spray friends and family members with colour and water, and feast on traditional sweets prepared for the occasion.
It's one of India's biggest festivals, with millions returning to their hometowns to celebrate with loved ones.
The festival honours the divine love of Hindu deities Radha and Krishna, and boisterous celebrations are held in the northern Indian cities of Mathura and Vrindavan, believed to be their birthplace.
Historical texts suggest the festival has long been celebrated to mark good harvests and seek fertile land.
A colour-smeared group of people celebrating Holi, seen throwing yellow powder on themselves as part of the festivalGetty Images
Young women seen smearing colour on a friend's faceGetty Images
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee danced to the beat of dandiya dance during pre-Holi celebration named Dolyatra and Holi Milan Utsav at the Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium on March 12, 2025 in Kolkata, India.Getty Images
A bonfire lit on the occasion of Holi festival, with people surrounding it in a circleGetty Images
Traditional Indian sweets and savouries prepared for the festival being sold at a shopGetty Images
Widows smeared with gulal (coloured powder), dance as they celebrate Holi, the Hindu spring festival of colours, at a temple in Vrindavan on March 12, 2025.AFP
Children are putting coloured powder on each other as they celebrate the Holi festival, the festival of colours, in Kolkata, India, on March 25, 2024Getty Images
A priest wearing traditional Indian cloth seen dancing to the beats of drumGetty Images
Follow BBC News India onInstagram,YouTube,X andFacebook
Related topics
Hinduism
Religion
Holi
India