Kachnar gulal from CM highlight of Holi at KVT

Varanasi: Celebration of the festival of colours began with lighting Holika bonfire on Thursday night and continued with colours on Friday morning, even as people played with gulal till evening and on Saturday too.
Naga Sadhus and saints of Shaiva Akharas, who stayed at their mutts and ashrams after attending Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj, left after playing with colours on Friday.
At Kashi Vishwanath Temple, celebration of colours comprised offering of Kachnar Gulal (color made with flowers of the Kachnar tree) sent by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to Lord Vishwanath Mahadev. Temple CEO Vishwa Bhushan Mishra said the Holi celebration began at Kashi Vishwanath Dham with herbal gulal made from the flowers of the Kachnar tree, a tradition that was started in 2024 by the CM.
The special Kachnar flower gulal is a prepared by National Botanical Research Institute in Lucknow and it was provided to Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust in Varanasi.
Prayagraj Kumbh journey of the Naga Sadhus of seven Shaiva Akhadas also came to an end with the celebration of Holi. Following Mauni Amawasya and Basant Panchami snan, Sadhus and saints associated with seven Shaiva Akharas started leaving Prayagraj and most of them thronged Varanasi to stay at their ashrams and mutts. After offering prayers at Kashi Vishwanath Temple on Mahashivratri, most of them left, while those having official work, roles in internal elections and other important tasks stayed to play with colours on Holi before departing. Such celebrations were seen in Juna, Niranjanai and other akharas at Hanuman Ghat and Shivala areas.
On the other hand, celebrations of colours gained momentum in the city since morning. Families preferred playing with colours in their localities, while large groups of youths could be seen heading to ghats along the Ganga, especially at Dashaswamedh and Assi ghats. Most groups danced at places where loud music was available on DJs installed at roadsides by locals.
Though most of the roads started wearing a deserted look by 1 pm as most families and revellers began reaching home due to hot weather and bright sunshine, roads like Godowlia, Sonarpura, Assi and others leading to prominent ghats remained crowded. Men in khaki started dispersing the crowd before those observing the Ramzan fast and other devout came out to head for offering Juma namaz (Friday prayers).