What is Holi, the Hindu festival of colours, and why does India among other South Asian nations celebrate it?

New Delhi: Holi, widely known as the Hindu festival of colours, is a joyful annual celebration at the advent of spring with cultural and religious significance. Typically observed in March in India, Nepal, other South Asian countries and across the diaspora, the festival celebrates love and signifies a time of rebirth and rejuvenation — a time to embrace the positive and let go of negative energy. For one of Holi’s most well-known traditions, celebrants clad in all white, come out to the street and throw coloured powders at each other, leaving behind a kaleidoscope of pigments and joy. Festivities with music, dancing and food ensue. Holi is celebrated at the end of winter and the beginning of spring, on the…