The festival of colors, Holi, is here. Holi can be said to be the celebration of the spirits of unity and brotherhood – an occasion to wipe out all differences and indulge in unadulterated fun and frolic. The festival has been celebrated for ages now, which blurs the boundaries of distinction of cast, creed, color, status, race, or sex. It is the sole occasion when rubbing gulal on each other breaks all barriers of bigotry and reaffirms the feeling of universal brotherhood. However, along with its many hues, Holi also brings in varied hazards related to the use of toxic chemical colors. To avoid any kind of untoward incident during this beautiful festival of happiness, a Pune-based social enterprise – eCoexist – for the eighth consecutive year now, has been teaching children and adults about the benefits of natural color.
eCoexist promotes ‘Rang Dular’, i.e. natural holi colors. The natural holi colors are made out of rice flour, turmeric, and recycled flowers, and they contain absolutely no artificial colors, making them safe and secure. Furthermore, preservatives and fillers that can be found have been lab tested in order to assure zero heavy metal content. “Colors that are sold in the market contain poisonous chemicals, like alkalis, glass pieces, mica, that are extremely dangerous for the eyes, skin and also for the lungs when inhaled. ‘Rang Dular’ has been lab tested with help of an environmental NGO, Toxics Link, to ascertain that it is absolutely free from any kind of heavy metals like mercury and lead,” said founder of eCoexist, Manisha Gutman.
This year, eCoexist has join-hands with many NGOs in Pune to distribute free colors to institutions like, Doorstep School, Bharatiya Samaj Seva Kendra (BSSK), Bal Kalyan Sanstha, Vidya Jyoti, Balwant Phadke Municipal School, School and Home for Blind Boys and Blind Girls. Many noted corporate houses are sponsors for the event and several volunteers will also participate in the various activities to be held at these aforementioned schools and will play Holi with small kids. An NGO from Mumbai will also be part of the event and distribute colors to slum children.
On March 20, the team of eCoexist will be hosting a ‘Completely Natural Holi party’, where invitees from all walks of the society will celebrate Holi in an absolutely safe environment. Sangam World Centre at Vishrantwadi is sponsoring the event that is scheduled to be held in their camp site on Alandi Road.
The Rang Dular project began in the year 2003 as a scheme under the Kalpavriksh Environment Action Group. eCoexist marched ahead with the campaign after many fruitful years of educational activity through Safe Festival campaigns. Furthermore, the project also provides employment to many women. The colors are prepared by women farmers of the Vanastree group in Sirsi, Karnataka, and packaged by women prisoners of the Yerwada central jail in Pune. More than 5,000 kg of color, that includes dry and wet colors, has been produced this year. The colors have seen a huge demand and are being supplied to several cities across India and are also being exported out of this country to color the entire world.
“I believe that it is a great initiative and has minimized the health hazards that are associated with playing Holi. Now, people can enjoy more and spread the color of happiness without a tinge of fear and apprehensiveness,” said Raja Karmarkar, a resident of Kothrud.
- Siddhartha Laik
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