2010.
Children, their faces smeared with colored powder, participate in Holi festivities in Mumbai, India, Monday, March 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Students smear colored powder on each other during a celebration ahead of Holi festival in Indore, India, Monday, Feb. 22, 2010. (AP Photo)
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Men smeared with facepaint and colored powder pose for a picture during Holi in the northeastern Indian city of Guwahati on March 1, 2010. (REUTERS/Utpal Baruah)
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People dance as colored water pours on them during Holi festivities in Gauhati, India, Monday, March 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
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A woman, her face smeared with colored powder, participates in Holi festivities in Mumbai, India, Monday, March 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
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Men daubed in colors celebrate the re-enactment of a local tradition of "Lathmar Holi", celebrated at Nandgaon village near the northern Indian city of Mathura on February 24, 2010. (REUTERS/K. K. Arora)
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Artists dressed as Hindu Lord Krishna (left) and his consort Radha are showered with rose petals during Holi celebrations in the northern Indian city of Mathura on February 18, 2010. (REUTERS/K. K. Arora)
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A boy with his face smeared in color smiles during the celebrations of Holi in Siliguri, India on February 26, 2010. (REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri)
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Dye covers the foot of a Hindu devotee as others play with color during Holi celebrations at the Bankey Bihari Temple on February 27, 2010 in Vrindavan, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
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A woman closes her eyes as colored powder is thrown on her face during the celebrations of Holi in Chandigarh, India on February 26, 2010. (REUTERS/Ajay Verma)
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A child rests inside tomato pulp as part of the celebration of Holi in Hyderabad, India on February 28, 2010. (REUTERS/Krishnendu Halder)
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Hindu devotees play with color during Holi celebrations at the Bankey Bihari Temple on March 01, 2010 in Vrindavan, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
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Young boys playing Holi, known as Kanhas, the childhood name for the God Krishna, throw color over Hindu devotees during Holi celebrations at the Bankey Bihari Temple on February 27, 2010 in Vrindavan, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
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A Hindu priest throws color onto Hindu devotees during Holi celebrations at the Bankey Bihari Temple on February 28, 2010 in Vrindavan, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
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Children pose after covering themselves with a colored powder called abir during the celebration of Phagwa, or Holi, in the Tunapuna Hindu Primary School in Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago on February 28, 2010. (REUTERS/Andrea De Silva)
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A man, his face smeared with colored powder, swims in the Arabian Sea to remove color from his body after Holi festivities in Mumbai, India on Monday, March 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
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A boy is covered with a colored powder called abir during the celebration of Phagwa, or Holi, in the Tunapuna Hindu Primary School in Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago on February 28, 2010. (REUTERS/Andrea De Silva)
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Priests throw color on the devotees celebrating Holi at the Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan, India on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
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Hindu devotees play with color during Holi celebrations at the Bankey Bihari Temple on February 28, 2010 in Vrindavan, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
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A man watches a procession celebrating Holi in Mathura, India on February 28, 2010. (REUTERS/Reinhard Krause)
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Indian kids smeared with colors look on as they celebrate Holi in Calcutta, India on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Sucheta Das)
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Girls smeared with colored powder are splashed with colored water as they celebrate Holi in the southern Indian city of Chennai on March 1, 2010. (REUTERS/Babu)
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Indian boys smeared with colors celebrate Holi in Calcutta, India on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
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A girl smeared with color throws colored powder as she joins in celebrations of Holi in Vrindavan, India, Sunday, Feb 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
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Children pour colored water on each other during Holi in Allahabad, India on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
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Hindu devotees smear each other's faces with color during Holi celebrations in the streets near to the Bankey Bihari Temple on March 01, 2010 in Vrindavan, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
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An Indian girl reacts as others throw colored powder at her as part of Holi, in the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, India, Saturday, Feb .27, 2010. (AP Photo/Biswaranjan Rout)
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Men and women take part in "huranga" in Dauji temple near the northern Indian city of Mathura March 2, 2010. Huranga is a game played between men and women a day after Holi, during which men drench women with liquid colors and women tear off the clothes of the men. (REUTERS/K.K. Arora)
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A Hindu devotee stands covered in brightly-colored powder during Holi celebrations at the Bankey Bihari Temple on March 01, 2010 in Vrindavan, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
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Clothes hang from overhead power and telephone lines after they were torn and thrown during Holi celebrations in Allahabad, India, Tuesday, March 2, 2010. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
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People smear the face of a young man with colored powder during Holi festivities in Mumbai, India, Monday, March 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
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People smeared with colored powder celebrate Holi in Ahmedabad, India on March 1, 2010. (REUTERS/Amit Dave)
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Young men celebrating Holi greet a passerby as they ride a bike in Mumbai, India, Monday, March 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
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Colored water is splashed on women during Holi festivities in Allahabad, India, Monday, March 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
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People smear colored powder on each other during Holi festivities in Mumbai, India, Monday, March 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
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A girl washes herself after taking part in Holi in Hyderabad, India on February 28, 2010. (REUTERS/Krishnendu Halder)
#2009.
Last Wednesday (March 11th), people in India and other countries with large Hindu populations celebrated Holi, the Festival of Colors. Holi is celebrated as a welcoming of Spring, and a celebration of the triumph of good over evil. What that translates to in action is an enthusiastic dropping of inhibitions, as people chase each other and playfully splash colorful paint, powder and water on each other. People also attend bonfires to commemorate the story of Prahlada, a Hindu figure and devout follower of Lord Vishnu who prevailed over his father and the demoness Holika with the power of his devotion. Collected here are photos from this year's Festival of Colors.
Men smear colored powder on each other's faces during celebrations of Holi, the Hindu festival of color, in Jaisalmer, in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, Wednesday March 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
Colored powder is thrown on a girl during Holi celebrations in the southern Indian city of Chennai, India on March 11, 2009. (REUTERS/Babu)
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Women tear off the clothes of men as they play huranga in Dauji temple near the northern Indian town of Mathura March 12, 2009. Huranga is a game played between men and women a day after the Holi festival during which men drench women with liquid colors and women tear off the clothes of the men. (REUTERS/K.K. Arora)
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People smear colored powder on each other during Holi celebrations in the northern Indian city of Amritsar March 11, 2009. (REUTERS/Munish Sharma)
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Sadhus or holy men with painted faces sing songs as they celebrate Holi on banks of the Ganga in the northern Indian city of Allahabad March 11, 2009. (REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash)
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Students holding paint powder of various colors pose as they celebrate Holi, the Indian festival of colors, in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad March 10, 2009. (REUTERS/Amit Dave)
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Children pour colored water on a tourist during celebrations of Holi, the Hindu festival of color, in Jaisalmer, in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, Wednesday March 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
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A girl with a colored face reacts as she is drenched during Holi celebrations in Kolkata March 11, 2009. (REUTERS/Jayanta Shaw)
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A man cleans a huge pan for celebration of "Hola Mohalla" at Anandpur Sahib in the northern Indian state of Punjab March 11, 2009. "Hola Mohalla" or the festival of Nihangs is celebrated during the Hindu religious festival of Holi, marking the congregation of Sikh devotees from all over the country. (REUTERS/Ajay Verma)
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Revellers take part in Holi celebrations in the northern Indian city of Allahabad March 11, 2009. (REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash)
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Girls react after colored powder is thrown on them during Holi celebrations in the southern Indian city of Chennai March 11, 2009. (REUTERS/Babu)
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A boy with a painted face looks into the camera during Holi celebrations in Kolkata March 11, 2009. (REUTERS/Jayanta Shaw)
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A woman reacts as 'gulal' or colored powder is thrown on her during Holi celebrations held for the Bollywood fraternity in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, March 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Gautam Singh)
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The eye of a student, smeared in colors, is seen during the celebrations of the Holi, in Chandigarh, India on March 10, 2009. (REUTERS/Ajay Verma)
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Students smear each other with colored powder during the celebrations of Holi, in Kolkata, India on March 9, 2009. (REUTERS/Jayanta Shaw)
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Young men, faces smeared with color, look on as they celebrate Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Calcutta, India, Wednesday March 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
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People smear brightly-colored powder on a man as they celebrate Holi in the northern Indian city of Mathura March 11, 2009. (REUTERS/K.K. Arora)
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Revellers raise their hands as colored water is poured on them during Holi celebrations in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad March 11, 2009. (REUTERS/Amit Dave)
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Nihangs, or Sikh warriors, apply colored powder to each other during celebrations of "Hola Mohalla" at Anandpur Sahib in the northern Indian state of Punjab March 11, 2009. (REUTERS/Ajay Verma)
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Physically handicapped children celebrate Holi, India's festival of colors at the Society for the Education of the Crippled in Mumbai March 9, 2009. (REUTERS/Arko Datta)
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Indian Hindu women watch a ritualistic bonfire that marks the beginning of Holi in Mumbai, India on March 10, 2009. Hindus across the country light bonfires with old wood, sticks, branches and leaves, as one of the most important ceremonies during the Holi festival, which symbolises the victory of good over evil. (REUTERS/Arko Datta)
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Purple-colored water is sprayed on revellers during Holi celebrations in the northeastern Indian city of Guwahati March 11, 2009. (REUTERS/Utpal Baruah)
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A man holds his son as they watch a ritual bonfire that marks the beginning of Holi in Mumbai March 10, 2009. (REUTERS/Arko Datta)
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People wade through a cloud of colored powder while celebrating the Hindu festival of Holi at Nand Gaon in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, March 6, 2009. (REUTERS/K. K. Arora)
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Children with their faces painted look into the camera while they celebrate Holi in the northern Indian city of Allahabad March 10, 2009. (REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash)
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A drunken young man sings as he celebrates Holi in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, March 11, 2009.(AP Photo/Mustafa Quraishi)
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A boy reacts as his face is smeared with colored powder by many others during Holi, in Calcutta, India, Wednesday March 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Sucheta Das)
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