Leaders & revellers hit streets, celebrate Holi
Kolkata: Revellers hit the streets with sprinklers and threw 'gulal' in the air to the beating of drums chanting 'Holi Hain' as the festival of colours was celebrated with fervour across Bengal on Thursday.
Groups of youths took to the roads in different localities since the morning hours and threw coloured water and smeared gulal on the faces of others to the accompaniment of chartbuster Holi songs like Rang Baroshe and Khelbo Holi Rang Debona.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who wished the people of the state on the occasion, said in a tweet: "In memory of slain jawan in #PulwamaAttack % other brave martyrs, I have decided not to participate in Holi festivities this year."
Mayor Firhad Hakim, who was flanked by commoners and voters in Chetla area, said: "We have been celebrating Holi for years. This is the tradition of Bengal, to celebrate different festivals with equal gusto and enthusiasm."
"No divisive force can create any rift in Bengal," he said.
TMC candidate from Kolkata South Lok Sabha seat Mala Roy hit the street and observed Dol Jatra. TMC candidate Prasun Bandyopadhyay visited Salkia area under his constituency accompanied by local party MLA and cricketer Lakshmi Ratan Shukla.
The day was also celebrated in Mayapur, global headquarters of International Society for Krishna Consciousness where devotees from other countries converged danced merrily to the chanting of Hare Krishna.
Holi, better known as Dol jatra in Bengal, was also being celebrated by the Gaudiya Vaishnavites at temple town Nabadwip.
In Shantiniketan, the abode of Rabindranath Tagore, ashramites of Visva Bharati, students and teachers took part in Basant Utsab.
Processions were taken out in different localities in the morning where people, donning traditional attire, walked along singing and reciting Tagore poems on spring and smeared each other's face with gulal. Actors from tinsel town from Indrani Halder to Rituparna Sengupta celebrated the day and wished their fans on the occasion.
Bengali superstar Prosenjit
Chatterjee tweeted: "Best wishes to everyone on the colourful day of Subho Dol Jatra."
