Holi revellers take natural route, opt for organic colours this time

PATNA: Here, there, everywhere... colours are all over the market place. As Patnaites roll up their sleeves to celebrate Holi this Monday, many will refrain from using synthetic colours and take the natural route this time.“While a 100gm pack of herbal colour costs Rs 70, the synthetic ones are available for Rs 40. Though a tad costlier, the organic variants have made a splash in the market and are more in demand,” Shyam, a salesperson at a Rajendra Nagar departmental store, said on Wednesday.In fact, a leading fashion retail house in the city is offering its customers a 500gm pack of herbal ‘gulaal’ for Rs 49 if they buy apparels worth Rs 2,499. Small stores, on the contrary, continue to stock up and sell only the synthetic varieties. Binay, who owns a grocery shop on Boring Road, has “never heard of organic colours before”.According to health experts, toxins used in colours can cause a host of skin and eye infections. General physician Dr Amrendra Prasad Singh told TOI, “Chemical colours, adulterated with lead oxide, industrial dyes, burnt engine oil and diesel among other harmful solvents, make your skin dry and are likely to cause cancer. Amid all the fun and frolic, do not forget to scrub the harmful colours off your skin immediately otherwise there are chances you will develop rashes later.”Even youngsters vouch for the benefits of using herbal colours instead of the chemical ones. Mainpura resident Anubha, who goes for a wild and whacky Holi celebration every year, has already ordered a 1kg pack of organic ‘gulaal’ worth Rs 792 from an online shopping portal. She said, “Organic colours, made from extracts of flowers and leaves, do not have any ill-effects. However, awareness about them is limited. It is high time we shunned readymade perilous ‘gulaals’ and geared up for a safe and responsible Holi by smearing each other with natural colours.” While many of us are still unaware of the advantages of organic ‘gulaals’, old-timers claim that Holi colours were originally made of dried flower petals. Boring Road resident Meera Roy, who has memories of Holis gone by, recalled how she and her sister-in-law made natural colours at home. “Humaare samay mein milaawat nahin hota tha… We used ingredients that were easily available in the kitchen – flour, henna, beetroot, rose petals, sandalwood, potato and turmeric – to prepare homemade ‘gulaal’ with a natural fragrance. In fact, there are places like Vrindavan where revellers have kept alive the age-old tradition of celebrating the festival of colours with roses and marigolds,” the sexagenarian said and advised Patnaites to switch to organic colours this Holi.