Phoolon wali Holi: Delhi goes DIY with gulal
Making the most of spring’s remnants, Delhiites are opting for homemade colours
It’s a wonderful world when amaltas, semal flowers plop gently around the Delhiscape as red roses and marigolds bloom. Making the most of these varied flowers, our Delhiites are geared up to welcome Holi with colours made from the Nature’s bounty. “I’ve been taking my seven-year-old daughter to Sanjay Van in my neighbourhood and collecting fallen flowers, especially semal and hibiscus,” shares Monica Kapoor, resident of IP Extension and a homemaker, adding, “These flowers are a great solution to make natural gulal. I’ve always had sensitive skin and don’t like the idea of the chemicals in Holi colours as they leave my skin irritable. So a few years ago, I started making gulal at home and this year, the surplus of semal is sure to help have a great Holi.”
Kapoor collects these flowers and cleans, dries, and grinds them to a powder before sun drying the mixture. “This gives me the perfect red pigmentation. Plus, my daughter gets to learn about botany!” she gushes.
Calling it borrowed wisdom from the older times, Divyanshu Asopa, an engineer by profession and advocate for sustainability, says, “Many ancient techniques use herbs and flowers to make colours that are offered to deities, and even used these in makeup,” adding, “I thus decided to try using rose petals, palash (tesu), marigold and amaltas to make colours for Holi.”
Some like Meher Koli, a Gurugram-based teacher, are using the technique to make and sell small batches of skin-friendly floral colours. “Ever since I learnt that gulal can be made at home, I began collecting fallen flowers from the botanical gardens. At first, it was a hobby but now I actively collect large batches at this time of the year for family and friends as gulal is sweetest way to wish my loved ones.”*