Lathmar Holi , India
The Holi festival in India was one of the reasons why I became a photographer. A GEO photo report by the photographer Xavier Zimbardo about Holi traditions in Uttar Pradesh deeply impressed me.
It was only during my second trip to India in 2006 that I was finally able to plan my journey to coincide with the Holi festival in March. Holi is a Hindu festival: on the evening before, large bonfires are lit and effigies of Holika are burned. On the day of Holi itself, an enormous battle of colors takes place. Dry colored powder, liquid paint, and colored foam are thrown, sprayed, and poured from rooftops onto passersby.
Holi celebrates the triumph of good over evil — the day when everyone is equal, caste differences lose their importance, and everyone ends up with the same skin color: colorful, with a strong tendency toward pink. Holi is a state of exception.
In two villages, a week before the main festival, there is a special tradition called Lathmar Holi, loosely translated as “stick-beating Holi” — the day when women are allowed to take revenge for the injustices they have suffered throughout the year.
I wrapped my camera in plastic protection, along with my passport and a few banknotes and Afterwards, I remained pink from head to toe for several days.
Twenty years later, I receive an email from the children of the English teacher from Nandgaon. The English teacher was the only person I met who spoke fluent English. He offered me shelter from the bombardment of colors and invited me to the temple in Kaman the following day.
