My Article for KolkataMirror.com (ToI website)

NEWS - CITY

Hues Of Holi

Eco-friendly colours or synthetic ones; powdered abeer or paste; reds, oranges or shocking pinks – find out what’s hot this Holi

Posted On Thursday, February 25, 2010

By- Annesh Bilas Thakur

Kolkata: Holi will be celebrated on March 1 this year. Scientists have been advocating herbal gulals(colours) like the ones produced by National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) for years, and this year is no different. Besides celebrities going for eco-friendly colours, commoners too feel the need to stay away from synthetic colours which harm the skin.

The use of natural dyes or homemade colours, has decreased as artificial colours are cheaper. But environmentalists have been putting in great efforts to spend Holi, in an eco friendly way! Rituparna Paul, an activist with an NGO, has suggested some environment-friendly tips:

Reduce the number of bonfires to decrease pollution and deforestation

Avoid chemically-produced colours to prevent skin and eye irritation

Teach school children how to make their own Holi colours from natural and safe ingredients like beetroot, onion peels, rose petals, spinach and turmeric.

Madan Mukherjee, a local vendor inCollege Street area, insists on better marketing of eco-friendly colours. He says, “Colours made at home from flowers like teshu and palash have a sweet fragrance which the customer is aware of. We must vouch for their sale. Why can’t the buddhi-jibis be as vocal on this issue as they are for politically motivated topics?”

The other option is to buy gulal which comes in bright shades of pink, magenta, red, yellow and green. Abeeris made of small crystals or paper like chips of mica. This is mixed with thegulal for a rich shine.

This season brighter, cheerful shades of red, blue, orange and green are “in” while blacks, silvers, golds, and shocking pinks are a strict “no way”. The colours are reasonably priced this year. While the artificial colours are between Rs 15 and Rs 100 for a packet, the eco-friendly versions are priced at around Rs 65 and Rs 75. For even better quality, you may have to pay anywhere between Rs 150 and Rs 250.

“Prices may increase further due to inflation,” said Rabindranath Kayal, vendor, from Behala Parnasree area.

Local clubs in areas like Golf Green, Jadavpur, Behala Parnasree, New Alipore etc are keen to organise the Dol Jatra the way it’s ‘always been in Bengal’ or even atShantiniketan.