NEW DELHI -- Millions of Indians celebrated Monday the Hindu Holi festival, dancing to festive music, exchanging food and drink and smearing each other with red, green, blue and pink powder, turning the air into a joyful kaleidoscope of color.
Widely known as the Hindu festival of colors, Holi marks the arrival of the spring season in India, Nepal and other South Asian countries as well as the diaspora. It celebrates the divine love between the Hindu god Krishna and his consort Radha, and signifies a time of rebirth and rejuvenation, embracing the positive and letting go of negative energy
Across the country, people -- some dressed in all white -- celebrated the festival by drenching one another in colored powder while others flung water balloons filled with colored pigment from balconies. Some used squirt guns to chase down fellow revelers in parks, and others danced on the streets to music blaring from speakers.
Food and drink are a big part of the festivities. Vendors in parts of India sold Thandai -- a traditional beverage prepared with milk, dry fruits and can sometimes be laced with cannabis.
Another tradition that marks Holi is Bhang, a paste made by grinding the leaves of the cannabis plant and is used in drinks and snacks. It is connected to Hinduism, particularly to Lord Shiva, and is eaten during some religious festivals in the region. The paste's sale and consumption are permissible under Indian law, although a few states have banned it.
In parts of India, people also lit large bonfires the night before the festival to commemorate the triumph of good over evil.
Holi traditions vary across India.
Last week, in preparation for the festival, hundreds of women in two northern towns celebrated by playfully hitting men with wooden sticks in response to their teasing as part of a ritual. Known as the "Lathmar Holi" (Stick Holi), it attracts a large number of visitors.
Women, with their faces smeared with coloured powder, pose for a photograph as they celebrate Holi, the festival of colors, in Kolkata, India, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
A family takes selfie as they celebrate Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Mumbai, India, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Devotees cheer as colored powder and water is sprayed on them during celebrations marking Holi at the Kalupur Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad, India, Sunday, March 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Faces of a couple are smeared with colored powder as they celebrate Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Mumbai, India, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Revelers, faces smeared with colored powder, dance during celebrations to mark Holi, the Hindu festival of colors in Prayagraj, northern Uttar Pradesh state, India, Monday March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
A swarm of bees attack a drunk man during celebrations marking Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Guwahati, India, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Devotees cheer as colored powder and water is sprayed on them during celebrations marking Holi at the Kalupur Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad, India, Sunday, March 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Clothes thrown by revelers hang from overhanging cables as they dance during celebrations to mark Holi, the Hindu festival of colors at loknath Prayagraj, northern Uttar Pradesh state, India, Monday March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Villagers from Barsana and Nandgaon smeared with colors play Lathmar Holi at Nandagram temple in Nandgoan village, 115 kilometers (70 miles) south of New Delhi, India, Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Women from Nandgaon, the birthplace of Hindu God Krishna, beat the men from Barsana, the legendary birthplace of Radha, the consort of Krishna, with wooden sticks in response to their efforts to put color on them. The same act is then replicated in Barsana between the women of that village and the men of Nandgaon as they observe the Lathmar Holi festival, a celebration of love and friendship. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)