Holi special
There are several stories about hOli. It is said that since hOlika, the sister of hiraNyakaSipu was immune to fire, he ordered prahlAda to be burnt along with her on a pyre. But he didn't die, she did. Then there is the legend of kRshNA and his rAsakrIDa (garba like dancing). The third one is the burning of kAma, the god of love by Siva. Even though he was burnt and cannot be seen, he is still visible to his wife ratI. The god kAma is known as manasija as he is born in one's mind. According to legend, he has five arrows of flowers -
aravindA (lotus) aimed at the chest causing craziness, aSOka aimed at the lips causing excitement, chUtaM (mango) aimed at the head causing loss of senses, nava mallika (jasmine) aimed at the eyes causing redness and neelOtpala (blue lily) when aimed causes death (metaphoric, not physical :-). In fact, hOli is really Valentine's Day in the Hindu calendar. Last year I took the rAsa theme for the hOli. This year, I have taken all the above five flowers and the bees (they are the string for his bow) and of course the hearts. They may not be all to the proper scale. Still, enjoy and comment!
Regards! - mOhana
Comments
sreegiri
Mon, 2010-03-01 14:27
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Nice work and beautiful.
lakshmiraghu
Mon, 2010-03-01 19:45
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it looks very beautiful mOhanaji.i like the out side border...let me try this border with rangoli powder...
rajamma_2
Mon, 2010-03-01 20:59
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mOhanaji, your description and the flower design reminds me of the 6th Slokam from Soundharya Lahari starting with 'Dhanu poushpam'
rajamma
jayamohan
Mon, 2010-03-01 21:27
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Nice information and colorful formation about holi!
ushavenkatesh
Mon, 2010-03-01 23:13
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thanks for the information about Holi.beautiful out side border with butterflies and cute flowers.
brindhanagesh
Tue, 2010-03-02 01:49
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Nice description about Holi Mohanaji. The design is also a feast to eyes.
jkmrao
Tue, 2010-03-02 04:44
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dhanu@h paushpaM marvI madhukaramayI paMchavSikhA@h
vasaMta@h sAmaMtO malayamaradAyOdhana ratha@h
tadApyEka@h sarvaM himagirisutE kAmapikRpAM
apAmgAttE labdhvA jagadida manaMgO vijayatE
- SaMkarAchArya, sauMdaryalaharI, 6
The bow is made of flowers and the string is made of bees. The five flowers are the arrows. The king of the spring is his friend, the southern breeze is his chariot. O daughter of the snowy mountains, being all alone thus, with the corner of your eyes, you bless him and the bodyless one triumphs!
Regards! - mOhana
jkmrao
Tue, 2010-03-02 04:45
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Somehow the carriage return linefeed never works for me ;;;;-)
Regards! - mOhana
dibbutn
Tue, 2010-03-02 06:07
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Mohana sir ... I liked the blue lotus a lot ... thanks for sharing your thoughts on holi
Rajusree
Tue, 2010-03-02 11:05
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Nice description and explanation with good kolam.
judelined
Tue, 2010-03-02 22:48
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A very informative treat for all of us
the blue lotus flowers are beautiful 
Lata
Tue, 2010-03-02 22:52
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Nice arrangement of blue water lilies. I'm giving up on trying any further. I searched high and low for the blue lilies, but couldn't get high quality pictures from anywhere. But, I learned something. I came to know that the good old commonly found blue Agapanthus is called the African lily.
Vinci
Wed, 2010-03-03 03:04
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A Treat for holi... Nice explanation..
sudhabalakrishnan
Thu, 2010-03-04 21:52
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beautiful holi kolam and a nice description too.
anirudh
Tue, 2011-02-15 09:38
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very good information sir....thank you