Huranga Holi celebration in Dauji temple, Baldeo, Mathura

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Photographer

Cecilia Colussi
Date of Photograph

March 2016
Website

http://www.ceciliacolussi.com

On the day after Holi, Huranga Holi is celebrated at Dauji temple, located in Baldeo, about 30 km outside Mathura, India. The tradition dates back to more than 500 years, when the Krishna temple was established. Huranga Holi is a game where women from the family which established the temple, playfully tear off the mens shirts and beat them up with strips of their own clothes, in the temple courtyard. Men retaliate drenching women with buckets of liquid colors. After some hours the temple is awash with colored water. It’s a huge family with about 3000 members now, and they all come to the village from across the world for the festival. Being covered in color brings relative anonymity, and in largely conservative India, this means Holi is a time when men and women and boys and girls can socialize with relative freedom.

Biography

I am a portrait photographer who loves working with people covering assignments worldwide. My friends say that I just can't stop. Let's say, I find it easy to keep myself occupied. The world is made to be discovered and my camera lets me get in touch with everything I come across. I like to interact with people, make them smile and learn from them. I am currently running a personal project about working homeless and I am fascinated by the humanity it allows me to discover day by day. I am an observer of humankind and my dream is to collect stories from around the world. I have a worldmap tattooed on my back - a note to myself: never give up pursuing your dreams! I love all aspects of travelling. The documenting and planning phase before the departure; the infinite quantity of life experiences provided by the unforseen glitches that happen in the field; and the return, when memories come back to life again through the images. What do I love most? Making new friends and experiencing the world with them. I strongly believe that sharing is the most effective way to grow and improve as an individual. I speak English, French, Italian and Spanish, so if you're sitting next to me on the tube or on the bus, beware, I'll probably start chatting with you... and if you still don't understand me, I'll try gesticulating: I'm Italian, it's in my DNA!