Rangapanchami

When to do the puja

Quick facts

• Also known asRang Panchami, Shimga
• WhereMaharashtra, Madhya Pradesh (above all Indore) and Karnataka
• Puja forRadha and Krishna
• In one lineRadha and Krishna's colours, and the fifth and last day of the spring festival that began on Dhulivandan.

Rangapanchami, in a little more detail

1. 01

   About the festival

   Ranga means colour, and panchami the fifth day. The spring festival that began on Dhulivandan completes its five days today.

   By now the sun has started to bite. That's where the custom of splashing water on each other comes from: colour, and a little cool too.

   Once the colour is on, everyone looks the same: young or old, you can't tell. That's the lesson of the day: forget the differences, and mix.

2. 02

   Krishna, Radha and the colour

   As a boy, Krishna had one worry: he was dark, and Radha was fair. Would she like him?

   His mother Yashoda grew tired of his moping. Go to Radha, she said, and let her colour your face any colour she likes. Radha did, and the two became a pair.

   In Gokul, Krishna would spray coloured water on his cowherd friends with a pichkari. Radha and Krishna are believed to have played with colour together on this very day. So today Radha is worshipped alongside Krishna.

3. 03

   In Maharashtra and beyond

   Colour, pichkaris and coloured water in every lane. You can make natural colours at home: flower petals, mehendi, turmeric, beetroot and besan.

   In some places a deity's image is carried in a procession, which ends with its immersion in a nearby river or pond.

   Indore's Ger is something else: coloured water rains down on the streets around Rajwada, and lakhs of people turn out. The custom goes back to the Holkars.

   In Braj, where Radha and Krishna grew up, the Holi festival runs until Rangapanchami, in memory of their love.

How to play

In short: Clean water, natural colour, no balloons, and respect for anyone who would rather stay dry.

1. 1In many homes Radha and Krishna get the first gulal.Rangapanchami is a day of Radha and Krishna's worship, so the first colour is theirs.
2. 2Oil your skin and hair, and wear old clothes.Oil stops the colour sticking to skin and hair.
3. 3Fill the pichkari with clean water and natural colour.No stale or dirty water: a cut can get infected.
4. 4Don't use water balloons.Balloons hurt eyes, ears and animals.
5. 5Play in the open: keep off wet stairs, terraces and roads.Slipping on wet floors is one of the commonest Rangapanchami accidents.
6. 6Keep an eye on small children near water and traffic.Stay close enough to help at once if a child swallows colour or slips into water.
7. 7Go easy on water: a bucket, not a hose.Summer has begun, and water is precious.
8. 8When the play is over, clean up both yourself and the yard.Animals drink coloured water left in the street; let it drain, don't let it pool.

What you needTick as you go

• Gulal and flowers for Radha and Krishna
• Coconut oil
• Old clothes
• A pichkari
• Natural colours
• A bucket of clean water
• Goggles or sunglasses
• A mild soap and a towel

Frequently asked questions