While the Lathmar Holi festival celebrated a few days before Holi is well known, the Huranga festivities at the Dauji Temple near Mathura is less famous. Celebrated a day after Holi, the Huranga festival witnesses a rather strange ritual. Soon after the morning darshan, around 10,000 devotees from Baldev and neighbouring villages gather in the temple courtyard. The two hours that follow see the temple compound into a battleground. Men pour buckets of saffron-tinged water on women, who retaliate by tearing their shirts off and thrashing them with it. Essentially a game between devarand bhabhi, the idea is to give the women a chance to get back at men for all the pranks they have played during the year.Devotees gather by the hundreds, and those seeking a good view from the roof show up at least two hours before the festivities begin.All the women wear veils, and men are forbidden from lifting these while the Huranga festivities are underway. A devotee pays his respects to Lord Balram, the elder brother of Lord Krishna, and the presiding deity of Baldev village.Bhang mixed with thandai is distributed before the colours thrown. In one of the temples near Mathura, it is also presented as an offering to the gods.Many children come dressed as little Krishnas, with peacock feathers, pearl earrings and flutes.A priest offers prayers before the celebrations. Devotees bring garlands. These are offered to the deity and then handed back as prasad.A temple flag tied to a bamboo stick heralds the beginning of Huranga. Taking it down signals the end of the day’s celebrations. Initially, only devars and bhabhis participate in Huranga. Later, other men are allowed to join in.The festivities start with dry gulal. More than a dozen men sit on the roof with sacks full of colour and throw powder down on the revellers.Women take up corners of the courtyard while men go around in circles. This way, the men are at the mercy of the crowd and no man goes back with a shirt on his back.No man is spared. Men come armed with buckets to pour coloured water on the womenIn the old days, Huranga mainly involved the sacred orange colour, which symbolises the quest for enlightenment.
