New Delhi (CNN) It's the bold image of India most often seen in ad campaigns, films and music videos.
People coming together from all walks of life to sing, dance and splash their friends and family with colored powder and water.
Brands such as Sony and Canon have used the vibrant festival to showcase their products.
British Airways recently joined in the fun with cabin crew members celebrating in cities across India.
Even Chris Martin of the band Coldplay, though he irked some in the process , got involved in Holi traditions in the music video for "Hymn for the Weekend."
But what is Holi and why do Indians celebrate it?
Hindu devotees play with color during Holi celebrations at the Banke Bihari temple on March 27, 2013 in Vrindavan, India.
The beginning of Spring
Holi is a Hindu festival that marks the start of Spring.
Celebrated across India, it's an ancient festival with the first mentions of it dating all the way back to a 4th century poem.
It was even described in detail in a 7th century Sanskrit play called "Ratnavali," written by the Indian emperor Harsha.
"Witness the beauty of the great cupid festival which excites curiosity as the townsfolk are dancing at the touch of brownish water thrown ... Everything is colored yellowish red and rendered dusty by the heaps of scented powder blown all over," wrote Harsh.
Indian students smear colored powder during an event to celebrate the Hindu festival of Holi in Kolkata on February 26, 2018.
How it looks today
Although a Hindu festival, Holi is celebrated by Indians across the country and is a great equalizer.
Children can douse elders with water, women splash men with color and the rules of caste and creed are briefly forgotten with everyone taking part.
The evenings are spent visiting friends and family.
A national holiday, it takes place on the last full moon day of the Hindu lunisolar calendar month, which is usually March.
This year's national holiday falls on Friday, March 2.
The festival takes place a day earlier in the eastern states of West Bengal and Odisha. In some parts of northern Uttar Pradesh state, the festivities take place over a week.
An Indian artist dressed as Hindu god Lord Shiva takes part in a procession ahead of the Holi festival in Amritsar on February 26, 2018.
Mythological roots
The roots of the festival lie in the Hindu legend of Holika, a female demon, and the sister of the demon, King Hiranyakashayap.
Hiranyakashayap believed he was the ruler of the universe and superior to all the gods.
But his son, Prahlad, followed the god Vishnu, the preserver and protector of the universe.
Prahlad's decision to turn his back on his father left Hiranyakashayap with no choice. He hatched a plot with Holika to kill him.
It was a seemingly foolproof plan; Holika would take Prahlad onto her lap and straight into a bonfire. Holika would survive because she had an enchanted shawl that would protect her from the flames.
But the plan failed. Prahlad was saved by Vishnu and it was Holika who died as she was only immune to fire if she was alone. Soon after, Vishnu killed Hiranyakashayap and Prahlad became king.
The moral of the story is that good always triumphs over evil.
Indian Hindu devotees throw colored powder during celebration of Holi Festival at Sriji temple in Barsana in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on February 23, 2018.
The love story behind Holi
In modern day Holi celebrations, Holika's cremation is often reenacted by lighting bonfires on the night before Holi, known as Holika Dahan.
Some Hindus collect the ashes and smear them on their bodies as an act of purification
Rangwali Holi takes place the next day and is an all-day affair where people throw and smear colored powder on each other.
Indian college girls throw colored powder to one another during Holi festival celebrations in Bhopal on February 28, 2018.
The tradition of throwing colored powder and water is believed to originate from the mythological love story of Radha and Krishna.
Krishna, the Hindu god depicted with dark blue skin, is believed to have complained to his mother about Radha's fair complexion.
To ease her son's sadness, his mother suggests he Radha's skin color by smearing her with paint. It's believed that this is where the custom of smearing loved ones with color during Holi came from.
About 1,000 widows living in the holy Indian city of Vrindavan have in recent years celebrated Holi, breaking from a tradition in which they were considered social outcasts, and unfit to take part in the spring festival. Photographer Chandan Khanna pictured the women this year before and after the fun
Use the sliders to see before and after images of them being covered in paint, coloured powder and dye in celebration
by Chandan Khanna / AFP / Getty Images
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Women say Holi is used an excuse by men to harass women
Female students in India's capital Delhi are protesting against harassment during the popular Hindu festival of Holi. The BBC's Nikita Mandhani spoke with them about their experiences.
Holi, a spring festival, is celebrated in many parts of India by people throwing coloured powder and water at each other. But some women say their experience of the festival is far from the romantic representations promoted by Bollywood and tourist accounts.
"As you grow older, Holi becomes the time when you start realising that your body is an object," says Gurmehar Kaur, a student at Delhi university.
Several female students at the university told the BBC that they are scared of walking on the streets near their college campuses around Holi because they are hit by water balloons, mud or eggs.
A few days before the festival, Avidha Raha, was travelling in an auto rickshaw when a liquid-filled balloon hit her in the chest and exploded.
"I don't know what it contained; it was sticky and slimy," Ms Raha says. "I felt disgusted."
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Women enjoy celebrating the festival with friends and family but worry about their safety
When she heard stories of students who had been attacked with "semen-filled" balloons, she soaked her t-shirt in water for two days.
Another student, Tolino Chishi, posted on Instagram on 27 February, claiming that someone had thrown a "semen-filled balloon" at her. The post went viral, triggering a few anti-harassment protests within and around the Delhi University campus.
While it's unclear how the students knew that the substance in these balloons was semen, being hit by balloons filled with coloured water is not new.
"On my way back from the protest, I was hit by a water balloon," says Raginee Samarah. "There were two boys on a bike who sped off after doing that."
None of this is limited to Delhi. Women in cities and villages across northern India are anxious about leaving their homes during Holi. The day is often used as an excuse by strangers - mostly men - to smear them with colour or throw water at them. People often drink "bhang", a liquid form of cannabis, on Holi, increasing the chances of women encountering groups of intoxicated men.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Women are often scared of encountering groups of intoxicated men on Holi
Women who spoke to the BBC said they enjoy celebrating Holi with family and friends and embrace the joy that surrounds it. But they added that some kinds of behaviour under the guise of celebration was still unacceptable
"You cannot just throw anything and everything on strangers without their consent and say - bura na maano Holi hai (Don't feel bad, it's Holi)," Ms Raha says.
Ms Raha and others have filed a police complaint against men who have been flinging balloons at women for more than a week, leading to police patrolling the area around the campus.
"There is rampant normalized everyday sexual harassment in the name of culture," says Avantika Tewari, an alumna of Delhi University. "Whenever you try to raise a demand of security on campus, the institutions impose more regulations on you."
Ms Tewari is a member of a collective that has been protesting against different hostel deadlines for men and women - some women's hostels lock their gates as early as 6:30pm, forcing students to return by then.
But campaigners such as Ms Tewari say that the idea that enforcing such deadlines will keep women safe is flawed.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Incidents of harassment increase during Holi, according to a study
"There's been a long history of harassment around Holi," says Janaki Abraham, a former student who is now a sociology professor at the university.
Ms Abraham was part of Delhi University's Gender Study Group which released a report in 1996 pointing out that incidents of sexual harassment peaked during Holi. The report said 60.5% of the women staying on the campus that year complained of aggravated harassment around Holi.
She added that this year's incidents and protests gave her "a sense of déjà vu".
"University hostels always responded by locking up the women," she says. "In a sense, nothing has changed."
Many women agree that college campuses are safe spaces for female students and that the police have been supportive. But they also say that hasn't deterred men who harass women outside campus in the name of celebrating Holi.
"Police should make sure boys who perpetuate this sort of harassment don't get away with it," says Ms Kaur.
But, she adds, the root cause of harassment is yet to be tackled.
"It's really important to teach boys that if someone doesn't want to play Holi with you, you cannot attack them with colours and balloons without their consent."
Additional reporting by Sindhuvasini Tripathi
Spring is no spring in India if it isn’t heralded by a nationwide burst of colours. And today (March 02) is that day.
Vast swathes of the country are celebrating the Hindu festival of Holi, marking the end of winter. Millions swarming into public spaces, splashing and smearing powders of myriad hues on each other and everyone else—not sparing even complete strangers.
In the run up to Holi, vendors start stocking a range oranges, blues, reds, and greens while families prepare traditional delicacies like gujia, a sweet fried dumpling made with semolina.
Here’s a selection of photos of Holi preparations and celebrations across India this year:
Colour vendors in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, on Feb. 27. (EPA-EFE/Sanjeev Gupta)
Widows celebrating Holi in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh. Many Hindu widows are usually forced to live ascetic lives, but over the past few years, women, particularly in this town, have been breaking this centuries-old tradition. (EPA-EFE/Harish Tyagi)
Widows dancing in Vrindavan. (Reuters/Adnan Abidi)
Celebrations inside a temple in Nandgaon, Uttar Pradesh. (Reuters/Adnan Abidi)
Inside a Nandgaon temple. (Reuters/Adnan Abidi)
Colour powder vendors in Guwahati, Assam. (Reuters/Anuwar Hazarika)
Holi revellers in Kolkata, West Bengal. (AP Photo/Bikas D)
A woman joins a chariot procession of Lord Krishna in Kolkata as part o the festivities. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
A tourist takes in the colours of Holi in Kolkata. (EPA-EFE/Piyal Adhikary)
College girls in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. (EPA-EFE/Sanjeev Gupta)
College students in Jammu. (EPA-EFE/Jaipal Singh)
A student of Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata, West Bengal. (Reuters/Rupak De Chowdhuri)
