UP: 100-year-old tradition of celebrating Holi a day before kept alive in Lucknow's Sarafa market
Mar 18, 2022
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 18 : Lucknow wore a colourful look as the city's Sarafa Market kept with century-old tradition by celebrating Holi with much pomp and show on Thursday.
This special Holi is celebrated in Lucknow a day before the festival of colours for almost 100 years.
After playing with colours during the day, a Kavi Sammelan and cultural program are also organized in the evening at Sarafa Market.
"This time Holi is also special because kesariya vibes in the entire state and the country. This time we played Holi with saffron gulal instead of red gulal," Vinod Maheshwari, president of Chowk Sarafa Market told ANI. 
Holi is incomplete with 'thandai'. Raja Thandai, one of the oldest and most reputed sweet shops in the Chowk area in Lucknow is adding saffron tinge to its thandai this year, thanks to the political verve all around.
The owner of Raja Thandai said "this time thandai has 'kesariya' flavour as the 'kesariya' government formed once again in the state. However, thadai will cool all the heat."
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) registered a massive victory in the recently concluded Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, in Varanasi, the mood of Holi was set by folk songs by local artists at Ganga Ghat. 
In Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister-designate Yogi Adityanath attended a function on the occasion of 'Holika Dahan' on Thursday.
Adityanath while interacting with locals said people have started playing Holi from March 10 onwards as the Bharatiya Janata Party made a historic win in Uttar Pradesh for the second consecutive term.
"People have started playing Holi from March 10 onwards itself. I want to thank you for choosing a government of law and order. This election showed that truth will always triumph," he told media persons. He also distributed sweets and chocolates among children
Marking the onset of the spring season, Holi is a festival of colours, symbolic of joy and victory of good over evil.
