Hyderabad: Hyderabad was painted in vibrant colours on Tuesday as residents celebrated Holi with enthusiasm and fervour from early morning. There is more to come as some communities will celebrate the festival on Wednesday.
Even though it was a public holiday, college students gathered on their campuses to celebrate the festival of colours.
Students of the JNTU Fine Arts and Profession Studies painted their campus in colours, while students of Osmania University organised an event for students from Afghanistan, Nepal, Syria, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Indonesia and Bangladesh.
Colonies were soaked in colours, residents said. In Narayanguda, teens were spotted spraying one another with colours since 6 am.
Kattekola Meena Rao of Saroornagar, said, “I guess after a gap of year or two, this year the celebrations were full-fledged. My friends and I made it a point to use only organic colours. The festival cheered up everyone.”
Vaishnavi Seethiraju, a resident of Manikonda, said: “All our friends and neighbouring families played together. Irrespective who they are, once they are here, we are drenching them in colour.”
Anantha Vaibhavi, an NRI, said: “I did all my schooling abroad, but this year, I have a chance to participate in the festival of colours.”
The festivities, however, are not over, as a few communities and families opted to celebrate the festival on Wednesday. So, they burnt the effigy, as part of the Holika Dahan, on Tuesday evening.
Even though there was confusion, youths said they will make use of both days to celebrate the festival.
Swapnika Jaiswal, a resident of Kacheguda, said, “We are celebrating the festival on Wednesday as many of the corporate companies got holiday tomorrow. Even our family is celebrating the festival on Wednesday. On Tuesday night, we burnt the effigy of Holika.”
