Happy Holi - Naturally

[Guest guest]

Lots of times you would have faced skin iritation - eye problems due to synthetic colors used during holi - this time you have an option to use natural colors that will be good for your skin and body instead of being harmful - put in that special effort and go natural this holi - Lokesh

 

Following article from delhi times this sat shows how to create colors that are natural.

 

Touch the RAINBOW

 

Holi signals the onset of spring with plenty of colours and merriment. Just ensure that the colours you play with are natural and therapeutic. We tell you how

 

Holi ke rang……. the very mention of Holi creates a feeling of happiness, of friends, families, colours, yummy foods like gujias, shakarpara, mouth watering thandhais. But hold on, before you douse yourself and others with those dazzling colours, just ensure that they are not synthetic ones. Unfortunately over the years, the fragrant natural colours with therapeutic values have given way to artificial ones mixed with oxidized metals or even industrial dyes. And that even a layman knows is highly toxic, causing damage to both you and the environment.

Thankfully, there are shops which sell only herbal and natural colours. And better still there are ways to make your own natural colours that are not only beautiful to look at and play with but even have therapeutic qualities as holi colours were originally intended to. You can make your own gorgeous yellows, reds, orange, magenta, greens, blues and indeed, all the colours of the spectrum. You don't have to go looking for hard-to-find ingredients or waste time and efforts slogging over it. Just turn to nature and see the bounty she has for you.

HELLO YELLOW! Remember the ubtan grandma used to make to get your skin glowing. It's very simple - turn it into dry yellow holi powder of one part turmeric powder with two parts of gramflour. You can replace the gramflour with multani mitti and you have a beautician's concoction! For liquid holi, boil marigold or tesu flowers in water, cool it and presto! You have bucketfuls of liquid yellow. In fact, you can just soak dried tesu flowers (available in the market) overnight - as simple as that. Want to take it more easy --- mix turmeric powder in a bucket of water, stir well.

PAINT THE TOWN RED Its turmeric powder again ---just add few drops of lemon juice and you have bright red colour with you. Want holi and face pack in one? Take red sandal wood powder and use it either dry or mixed with water. Try putting about two teaspoons of red sandal wood powder in a litre of water and boil, you get a red mixture, dilute it further with water and you can paint the town red! Do you eat an occasional paan? Get that pinch of kathha (lime), mix in some turmeric powder and water and you get bright orange red. However, use it only after diluting with plenty of water. Too lazy to do all that? Never mind, just soak red hibiscus flowers in water overnight - you get red colour water with medicinal values. Ever thought that you could drink liquid holi? Don't gag - you can by mixing tomato and carrot juice. To play holi dilute with sufficient amount of water.

GO GREEN Ever thought what can go on your platter can also go all over you? All you have to do is make a paste of spinach, mustard green, coriander or mint and mix with water. You can also mix henna powder with flour for a beautiful shade of green. However, go easy with henna as pure henna tends to leave a brown stain. Gulmohar grows plenty in Delhi ---get some leaves, dry them and ground them fine and you have a healthy, happy green powder in your hands.

TRUE BLUE The Jacaranda flower is again available everywhere - dry them and crush them. Indigo powder is another powerful blue, dilute it with plenty of water and you can play holi till you go blue in the face.

ROYAL MAGENTA Love the royal colour? The recipe is so simple - grate some beetroot, soak them overnight in water and you have it. To get a richer shade boil the grated beetroot in water, cool and dilute with more water.

Get some pink onions from the market, peel and boil, the result is a beautiful pink liquid. But hey! Just don't forget to remove the onion peels- you don't want to go around smelling of onions do you?

BLACK AND BROWN Yes you read right! Here we are talking of the colours brown and black. Before you go black holi - find the delightful surprise nature has in store for you. We all love gooseberries (Amla) don't' we? Now we can use them for holi play too - just boil dried gooseberries in an iron vessel and leave overnight. On holi morning, add plenty of water and you have a lovely black mixture, something you can happily play with. Another way to get black liquid, though a trifle expensive one, is mix juice of black grape with plenty of water. As for brown boil some tea or coffee in plenty of water ---cool and use. You can also use kattha (acacia catechu), yes the same one from the panwalla, mix with water and go brown.