Thousands gather in Basantapur to celebrate post-covid Holi

A crowd of thousands of people gathered in the core areas of capital city Kathmandu on Monday to celebrate Holi, the festival of colours freely for the first time in the post Covid- 19 period.

This festival is observed in the hilly and mountainous districts on Fagu Purnima, the full Moon day in the month of Fagun (which falls on Fagun 22 this year) as per the Hindu calendar, while the people in the Terai-Madhes region, the southern plains celebrate the occasion the next day, Tuesday.

Thousands of people, mostly teenagers, thronged key centres of Kathmandu to celebrate occasion by sprinkling colours at each other, as the festival made a triumphant return to the country after nearly three years due to the pandemic. The celebrations mostly remained peaceful which is also joined by foreign tourists, who enjoyed the festival of colours despite not being part of their life. People mainly gathered at Basantapur Durbarsquare in the heart of Kathmandu since morning on Monday to participate in the traditional Holi celebrations. The Holi celebrations began last week with the installation of “Chir”, with colourful strips attached to a three storied wooden pole. According to tradition, Nepalese celebrate Holi for eight days from the day of the installation of the “Chir” to the full moon day in the lunar calendar.