Rang Panchami

आज गोकुळात रंग खेळतो हरी, राधिके जरा जपून जा तुझ्या घरी!

Once again, I'm back with another story, this time about the festival of Holi, to be precise, Ranga Panchami. This festival has many popular stories, but I am bringing you the one that I loved the most.

Thousands of years ago, in the ancient city of Vrindavan, a beautiful love story was taking shape. It was the love story of Radha and Krishna. From the distant village of Barsana, Radha longed to meet Krishna and in return, Krishna, would play beautiful melodies on flute and send her secret messages. They would secretly meet in Vrindavan leaving traces and whispers of their meetings in the forest.

But that was not enough for Krishna. His love knew no bounds. When He became impatient He would go to Barsana with His friends, just to catch Radha's one glimpse. Now the problem was that Radha was a married woman. So Gopikas from Barsana would try to keep Krishna away from Radha. They would scold Krishna and His friends and shoo them away. Sometimes they would even hit Krishna and His friends with a stick (lathi) and send them back.

How would Krishna meet Radha now? So He and His friends planned disguises. Sometimes they would enter Barsana as old men, sometimes as Gopikas, sometimes as bangle seller and sometimes as something else. But no matter what their guise was, Gopikas would always recognize them and drive them back. The problem was really big and serious.

That made Krishna wonder why He always got recognized. The answer was in His beautiful sparkling blue complexion, a radiant colour that revealed Him as divine. No disguise could possibly hide that celestial beauty. After all Lord Krishna was an avatar of Lord Vishnu.

Now what? How would Krishna meet Radha?

This time He came up with a perfect plan. With His friends, Krishna went to Barsana armed with lots of vibrant colours. Red, orange, blue, yellow, green you name it. They began throwing colours at each other and at anyone who crossed their path. Gradually, the entire town of Barsana was covered in the colours of Lord Krishna. Every person was wrapped in some or the other colour. Krishna was no longer the only one with blue skin; everyone was part of the colourful kaleidoscope Lord had created. The Gopikas, unaware of what was happening, also joined in the festival of colours. And amidst the joyful chaos, Krishna and Radha would come in front of each other with a playful spirit. Throughout the day, they would splash colours on each other and share laughter.

Colours were dancing in the air, signifying and celebrating the union of two souls, pure emotions and creating the eternal bond of Radha-Krishna's love story.

May the Rang Panchami, colour your life with happiness, love and joy. May you embrace the light hues of summer with a vibrantly painted heart.

HAPPY HOLI!

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Marathi/ Hindi words and their meanings:

Gopikas: Cowherd women of Vrindavan

Rang Panchami: Festival of colours celebrated on the fifth day (Panchami) after Holi. In modern days it is celebrated along with Holi.

Vrindavan and Barsana: Vrindavan is where Lord Krishna spent his childhood and Barsana is the birthplace of Radha.