Crowds gather for holi again, now with organic colour and vegan sweets

Holi celebrations embrace zero-waste activities, bio-degradable products and water conservation

As Holi celebrations return, after a two-year pandemic pause, they are heralded with drums, colour and a fresh sense of eco-consciousness.

The festival of colours and spring is a public celebration with merry groups carrying drums and other instruments, visiting parks and temples in the locality. Many contemporary Indian street foods such as dahi bhalle,channa bhatura, gujiya and malpua have their roots in Holi. This year, with the festival falling on March 18, celebrations are coloured by an awareness of sustainability, zero-waste, water conservation, and biodegradability.

Founder of the all-vegan store, Rare Earth-The Organic Store, Shammi Sethi is holding a vegan Holi party at the store and cafe, in Khar West in Mumbai. “We educate people on veganism, about its benefits on health and environment,” he says. “We will be celebrating the festival in keeping with our vegan lifestyle. Thandai , a must-have drink on the occasion, made with nut milk, oats, cow peas and pulses will be served, with vegan biriyani and mock meat rogan josh.”

He is also introducing for the first time vegan gulab jamuns, made with makhana or fox nuts. Other eco-friendly measures are the use of natural colours made with turmeric and beetroot. “We are conscious about every excess, “says Shammi adding that their’s will largely be a “dry “ Holi with little use of water. According to him, there has been a definite rise in vegan lifestyle during the pandemic and it has made people “more conscious,” of saving natural resources.

Sagar Trivedi, Manager, Paggy Yash & Friends, Bhopal, agrees that “everyone is more mindful than before”, even as he prepares to host Holiland 2.0 in Bhopal. He is expecting a crowd of between 600 and 800 people. “People are enthused that there is a party and they can live it up after two years of being house-bound. Holi is a more physical function with lots of hugging and dancing,” he says, adding that the venue, Vatika is a half acre plot that can host 2,500 people.

Unlike the last occasion, Holiland 1.0 in March 2020, just before the COVID-19 lockdown was imposed, they are using water mist sprays this time that reduces water wastage by 50 % in comparison to water used in rain showers, says Trivedi. “Earlier we had rain showers that used almost 15 to 20,000 litres of water for a party as large as this.”

Holiland, which is a day-long event from 11 am to 5 pm, will feature the Braj Holi of Mathura, which will be played with flowers. “People are now conscious of the environment, of waste disposal,” Trivedi says adding that they have tied up with Vrindavan, a cattle shelter that makes compost from waste. “The leaves will be used as cattle feed, while the flowers will be used for composting. We have installed dry and wet waste bins all over.” It is mandatory for the stalls at the venue to use only recyclable crockery and cutlery, he adds.