Holi is a festival which we Indians celebrate with great enthusiasm and happiness. It is related to an old mythological event and is celebrated to celebrate the burning of evil and to unite people with each other. The festival involves preparations of sweets, delicious dishes and similar festivities. However, the primary attraction of the festival is the frenzy which involves coloring each other with liquid and powdered paints. Earlier, the colors used to be made from natural fruits and flowers but nowadays the festival is proving to be a burden on the environment and on the health conditions of those who participate in it. The colours nowadays are almost exclusively manufactured from harmful chemicals which affect our eyes adversely and which pollute our soil too. The land does not remain arable anymore and the animals too drink water which has been mixed with these colors. This leads to stomach troubles in cows and other street animals.

A lot of campaigns are going around in India to promote the use of natural colors during Holi celebrations. These have, to some extent, proved helpful in creating awareness among people but a lot more is still needed to be done. Awareness must be the first step in the direction. When this process is safely anchored, we must advance to more persevering efforts.