YESTERDAY (Mar 4) was not only China's Lantern Festival, but also the Holi Festival, one of the biggest and most joyous festivals for Indians.

Nearly 50 Indians celebrated the festival, also called the Festival of Colors, by painting each other in different colors at Xichong beach in eastern Shenzhen yesterday.

Bizarre as it sounds, smearing one another with brightly hued powders and squirting colored water is a traditional way of celebrating the festival.

Although they are far from home, Shenzhen's Indian population has by no means abandoned the colorful display. They also celebrated the festival on Dameisha beach last year.

The boisterous occasion started with people smearing different colored powders to each other's faces, necks as well as clothes - with a "Happy Holi" and a hug. Even a local fisherwoman's face was painted red.

The party reached its climax as people were dipped into a pool of colored water one after the other amidst much teasing and laughter as children squirted colored water over passers-by.

Back in India, the celebration is even wilder, said Kenny Krishnani, who came from Dongguan City to join the party. "Once the color on my face was so strong that I tore my skin trying to wash it off," he said.

Holi (also called Holaka or Phagwa) is an annual festival celebrated on the day after the full moon in the Hindu month of Phalguna (early March). It celebrates spring, commemorates various events in Hindu mythology and is a time to disregard social norms and indulge in general merrymaking.

Editor: Wing