You better run if you don’t want to get hit!  Today in Nepal it is Holi, a colourful local festival that celebrates joy and happiness. On this day, men, women and children throw colored paint, vermilion power and plain old water on each other and (hopefully) unsuspecting passersby.   It gets pretty messy!

After dousing his sister in purple paint powder, this little devil is about to super soak her too!

Above every street or around any corner is someone with a paint bomb, ready to take you out! 

This little red-faced guy was hidden on a roof, waiting for his next victim. Little did he know I was watching him!

Holi is a religious festival with its own set of legends celebrating Krishna, but I prefer its social message: putting color on each other symbolizes amity, friendship and mutual trust….although I’m not quite sure how ambushing someone with an unexpected shower of coloured water quite installs trust!  But its fun and the kids love it.

It was very hard to take photos surreptitiously.  The second they saw a camera I would have been a major target!  However I did manage to sneek a few through the window.  Here are some very colourful people returning home from the festivities:

Waiting for a lift?

For some very colourful people, they are looking very sombre. Maybe they lost the pink powder fight?

A Word a Week Photograph Challenge