Explosions of Color

Welcoming in the spring with an explosion of color and sound, the Indian Holi festival is celebrated every year on the day after the full moon in early March. An ebullient and wild occasion, it’s made particularly distinctive by the clouds of brightly colored powder and liquids that participants hurl at one another during the celebrations. The practice of smearing neighbor with bright pigments derives from a Hindu legend in which the young prankster Krishna does the same to his mistress Radha, objecting to the difference between his dark complexion and her fair skin. These images of Holi celebrations were taken by photographer Palani Mohan.