Isn’t Holi a lot of fun?
What if it also becomes a chance for us to do something for Mother Earth?
The best part about this project is that it will take us back to the original format of Holi celebrations – the way Holi was always supposed to be celebrated.
Flower Based Colours for Holi
Before chemical colours came into the market, we used natural colours.
You might have noticed that Holi comes in the season of spring – when flowers of all kinds are in bloom.
This is what was used by people to make colours.
But, how will we make these colours?
Step One: Sourcing the Flowers
For starters, we need to source the flowers.
You can do this by:
A. Collecting the flowers from your own garden or pooja temple. Do not pluck the flowers. Use the petals after they have dropped, if picking from your garden. If picking up from your pooja temple, pick them up in the evening.
B. If you don’t have a garden or temple in your house, tie up with a friend who does and both of you can make these colours together.
C. If neither of these is possible, go to a temple nearby and request them to allow you to collect the flowers in the evening.
Step Two: Measuring your Impact
If these flowers are not used for herbal colours, then they will go into landfills. So, the first thing you should do right after sourcing is finding a way to measure your impact.
Weigh the petals or flowers after collection each day and keep a record in a diary.
Step Three: Preparing the Flowers
After they have been collected, weighed, and recorded, we need to prepare them.
Some people are allergic to pollen. Pollen is usually concentrated in the central part of the flower.
So, we collect the petals and discard the central part containing the pollen and the anthers.
Step Four: Drying the Flowers
The next step is to dry them.
It is very easy to dry these flowers.
Just spread them on a sheet of newspaper. It is best to dry them in indirect sunlight or in shade, but a warm area. Do not expose the flowers or petals to direct sunlight.
A flower is dried enough when it crumbles in your hand. Roses take about 3-4 days to dry. Marigold takes longer. White daisies take about a week.
Final Step: The Colours are Ready
You can choose to play Holi with these dried petals directly, or, you can crush them into a powder.
The crushing can be done in a mixie.
These colours can also be put into simple glass bottles and gifted to friends as lovely Holi gifts.
Don’t forget to look at the number – how many grams or kilos of content did you save from landfills this year? Time to feel proud. 🙂