City soaks in the spirit of colours

Hyderabad: The annual exams notwithstanding, the festival of colours was celebrated with the usual fervor in the city of minarets. From Begum Bazaar to Begumpet, LB Nagar to Lal Bazaar, people of all ages marked the day with fun and frolic and lots of colour.

In what can be termed as a welcome change, the use of organic colours increased by leaps and unlike the past; reports poured in of the people preferring eco-friendly colours to eggs and harmful colours. Rekha Manchandani, a resident of Begum Bazaar, said, "Twenty-two women from our locality decided we would only use eco-friendly colours."

Likewise, child artist and gymnast Sunerii Vennam played Holi with her friends using organic colours made of kumkum, indigo, beetroot, turmeric and multani mitti. The students of Shivaji Vidhya Peeth High School, Prashashan Nagar, Jubilee Hills decided to use eco-friendly colours.

Various areas in the city turned into bustling spots as people vroomed on bikes sporting bandanas, pagdis and kurtas. Begum Bazaar wore a festive look as traders and locals basked in colours, the bylanes in the Old City were masked in vibrant colour. At some places, horses and camels marched along the alleys much to the delight of locals especially children.

Loud cheers of 'Holi Hai' rent the air as youngsters on bikes sped across the city especially near Necklace Road and other areas. The Marwadi community came out in large number especially in the Old City which has a sizable population. In Sindhi Colony in Secunderabad too people gathered in GHMC parks and on the streets near Paradise junction.

Rang Rave Holi bash was held in Hyatt at Gachibowli – it was a six-hour gala with eco-friendly organic colours, Bollywood, EDM music and Dhol enthralled people as they swayed to dance numbers. Bollywood Dj Aqeel Ali along with Gaurav Mehta, Rishab Live performance added colour to the extravaganza. Rain dance was the highlight of the party.