Celebrate Holi in an Ecofriendly Way
The festival of colours is looming and every individual is craving for the sight of colourful hues smeared onto people’s faces draped in white. One can not just smear the faces with colours but also squirt colourful waters and pastes and experience an array of delightful delicacies. Before we talk about how we make your Holi an ecofriendly one, let’s have a peek into the significance of the festival.
The arrival of spring is followed by this colourful festival; Holi. It is an Indian festival which is celebrated with pomp and show to signify the importance of good over bad. This festival has ancient and religious significance all over India. The celebration of this festival in the ancient times was entirely different when compared to the present day celebration. It is celebrated for three days.
Harmful effects of the artificial colours;
The colours and other materials used for the celebration of this festival have a negative impact on the human race. Some of the harmful effects of the artificial colours are that they are highly toxic and can cause skin cancer along with various other ailments like; Dermatitis, renal failure, eye allergy and contain carcinogens.
Avoid purchasing artificial colours: Artificial colours can cause the above infirmities and contain chemicals like Aluminium Bromide, Lead oxide, Copper Sulphate and Mercury Sulphite. These chemicals are highly hazardous to a human life.
A strict ‘NO’ to Gulals: Gulals are easily available in free packets, boxes and on roads. Do not buy these dry colours , as they contain chemicals like Silica and asbestos which can cause severe allergies.
Eco friendly Holi celebrations:
In order to prevent and have a safe and healthy Holi here are some steps to celebrate with ecofriendly colours by producing your own natural colours. One can make their own ecofriendly Holi colours. These colours can be produced with various ingredients from one’s own kitchen.
The colour Yellow: To produce the colour yellow, mix turmeric (haldi) powder with chick pea flour (besan) or boil Marigold flowers in water to get a rich yellow colour. Also one can soak pomegranate peels in water overnight to produce yellow coloured liquid.
The colour deep pink: To get a deep pink hue, soak beetroot pieces in water.
The colour Orange: For Orange or red colour, dry the henna leaves and powder them.
Organic Colours: If one finds it difficult to produce natural colours at home you can always go in for organic colours available in the market. Also one can make use of ‘Jhilmil’ brand royal holi which is non-toxic and free from heavy metals. Various outlets of the brand ‘Organica’ sells various organic hues.
Awareness campaign: One can organize an awareness campaign at your apartment in India and convey the advantages of celebrating holi in a natural way. Various cities in India follow this technique to make people aware about the hazards of artificial colours.
Bonfire hazards: In order to celebrate the festival in a natural way, one has to even consider the hazards created by the bonfire during Holi. This ritual causes serious environmental problems, as the bonfire requires a lot of wood which results in the chopping of trees. In such cases both the trees and the environment is at risk. In order to avoid these hazards, one can form large communities and make just one bonfire rather than many. This will result in a lower consumption of wood and less polluted environment. Another tip to avoid these risks is that you can make a bonfire with waste materials rather than using large amount of wood.
Save water: Many cities in India are facing water scarcity problems, as a result the usage of water holi has to be avoided. Water usage during holi is used in many ways like dousing people with water colours, throwing water balloons and playing with water guns. It is gloomy to think about the water shortage in various states in India and the wastage of water during the festival. In order to avoid this natural crisis one can save water and avoid playing water holi.
Perhaps one can celebrate this festival of colours in various other unique ways rather than polluting the environment and wasting natural resources;
Join the household while preparing the sweatmeats and other savouries. Some of the exclusive delicacies during this festival are gujiya, malpuas, mathri, puran poli, dahi badas etc and glasses downed with thandai.
Initiate their own games and interact with other members of the communities.
Organize the pot breaking ceremony, in which a pot is hung up high with buttermilk in it. A member of the group climbs the human pyramid and breaks the pot.
For CF Editorial – Farheen Naaz
