Raṅga Pañcamī 1998

Raṅga Pañcamī (the fifth day of colours) falls on Kṛṣṇa Pakṣa Pañcamī, five days after the main Holī celebration (Phālguna Kṛṣṇa Pañcamī under the amānta month reckoning used across South and West India, Caitra Kṛṣṇa Pañcamī under the pūrṇimānta reckoning used across North India). While the rest of India may think Holī is over, for much of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan this is the day the real revelry begins. Coloured powders fill the air, streets run red and green and yellow, and the celebration reaches its most joyful and uninhibited peak.

The spiritual tradition behind Raṅga Pañcamī is more cosmic than it might first appear. Each colour thrown into the air is said to invoke a specific deity or divine principle: red invokes Brahmā the creator, green invokes Viṣṇu the preserver, yellow (turmeric) invokes Śiva, blue is associated with Indra, and black (or dark violet) represents Bhūmi Devī, the Earth goddess. Throwing coloured powder skyward is therefore an act of worship through colour: filling the atmosphere with the presence of the divine, and driving away negative spirits and ill-health with the combined energy of all the devas.

In Maharashtra, Raṅga Pañcamī is also called Shimga: a name used in the Konkan region for the entire Holī celebration season. The day is marked by community processions, folk music, and feasting on puraṇ polī (sweet stuffed flatbread) and gujiyā. In some Rajasthani villages, Raṅga Pañcamī marks the official close of the entire marriage season: the last day of festivity before daily life resumes. In Madhya Pradesh's Malwa region, local communities celebrate with evening gatherings where Bhāṅg (a traditional cannabis preparation) and Thaṇḍāī remain central to the festivities.