Agra After Barsana on Friday, it was the turn of Nandgaon (the village of Lord Krishna) to host ‘Latha-maar Holi’ on Saturday. Men from Barsana came prepared with headgear and shield to save themselves from the lathi-wielding women in Nandgaon.
The centre of attraction was the chowk area in Nandgaon where ‘huriyare’ (Holi revellers) were welcomed with showering of yellow flower petals. The visiting ‘huriyare’ sang Holi songs as they saved themselves from the ‘lathis’ of women.
There was a huge gathering of onlookers who were curious to see the ‘latha-maar Holi’, a traditional celebration since times immemorial. Barsana (the village of Radha) hosted the famous ‘Laddoo Holi’ on Thursday and ‘Latha-maar Holi’ on Friday.
Noted Braj litterateur Padma Shri Mohan Swaroop Bhatia turned nostalgic while describing the tradition of ‘Latha-maar’ Holi in Barsana and Nandgaon and said that about 150 years ago, FS Growse, the then British collector, travelled 40 kilometres on horseback from Mathura to watch this famous Holi and mentioned it vividly in his book – “Mathura – A District Memoir”.
‘Such was the charm of ‘Latha-maar Holi’ that British collector FS Growse could not stop himself from travelling on horseback for 40 km to see the festival in Barsana, also known as the village of Radha Rani, whose temple on a hillock is also known as Ladliji Temple or Radha Rani Temple,” informed Bhatia.
{{/usCountry}}‘Such was the charm of ‘Latha-maar Holi’ that British collector FS Growse could not stop himself from travelling on horseback for 40 km to see the festival in Barsana, also known as the village of Radha Rani, whose temple on a hillock is also known as Ladliji Temple or Radha Rani Temple,” informed Bhatia.
{{/usCountry}}Usually foreigners also throng to see this Holi, but with international flights yet to operate, lanes of Barsana and Nandgaon had fewer foreign tourists this time like the past two years.
The election process prevented chief minister Yogi Aditya Nath from being part of Holi celebrations in Mathura this year because his favourite ‘Latha-maar Holi’ in Barsana was on Friday, a day after the counting day for state assembly elections. A cumulative programme ‘Rangotsav’ had been organized in the past when UP CM Yogi Aditya Nath had invited the Haryana CM to be part of Holi in Mathura.
“Latha-maar Holi’ has turned into a most popular event in the Holi celebration spread over 50 days in Braj. Holi begins on Basant Panchami and includes Laddoo Holi, Latha-maar Holi in Barsana and Nandgaon, Huranga at Dauji Temple and other events,” said Mohan Swaroop Bhatia.