I celebrated Holi at Radha and Krishna's villages and it was breathtaking

Holi, the festival of colours is best experienced in the villages of Nandgaon and Barsana, both situated at a few distance from Vrindavan. Nandgaon is Krishna's village, while Barsana is where his beloved Radha was from.

Holi celebrations at these two villages, which start a week before the actual festival underline the core essence of ‘ras ka bhav’ – which means, it celebrates the element of spiritual rapture.

The festival begins on asthmi with ladoo-leela at Barsana ands continues for the next two and a half days.

The menfolk play Holi with women in a way which is extremely vocal about their nature of interest in them. It is not sexual in its approach but it has the rustic element of wooing and teasing.

Have a look at how these two villages celebrate the festival of colours.

(The author, Divya Rai is a professional photographer and a travel blogger. When she is not busy developing beautiful photographs, she writes a travelogue called A Borrowed Backpack)