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Subdued riot of colours marks Holi
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PTI
NEW DELHI:
Holi, the festival of colours, brotherhood, love and affection,
was celebrated with traditional fervour all over the country
on Saturday.
However,
the festivities were on a subdued note following Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Home Minister L K Advani's decision
not to celebrate Holi as a mark of solidarity with Gujarat
people who suffered largescale death and destruction in the
January 26 quake.
Right
from morning, revellers in groups, dancing and singing Holi
songs to the beat of drums, applied 'gulal' on foreheads of
each other and exchanged pleasantries and sweets.
With their
faces painted beyond recognition, people moved along thorougfares
of towns and cities. Children and women participated in sprinkling
of colours in a big way.
Muslims
also took part in celebrations with their Hindu brethren with
enthusiasm expressing 'Hindu-Muslim harmony'. However, the
usual fun and frolic was missing in Rajasthan, affected by
severe drought and famine for the third consecutive year.
A lesser number of people joined in the festivities in urban
and rural areas alike, reports received in Jaipur said. The
unique event of playing Holi by groups of people stoning each
other in Bheeludi tribal village in Dungarpur district was
also subdued as the famine-hit area attracted lesser people.
The festival
was celebrated with traditional enthusiasm across Bihar, Punjab,
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.
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