People in Nepal's hilly regions celebrate Holi with fanfare

Kathmandu, Mar 13 (PTI) The people in several parts of Nepal celebrated Holi, the festival of colours, on Thursday with fanfare.  
    The festival is celebrated for a week in the country, though the government holiday is on Thursday.
    The celebrations formally commenced on March 7 with the erection of the chir, a 32-plus feet bamboo stick at Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu. Colourful clothes were attached on top of the stick, marking the start of the festival. 
    The festival was observed in Kathmandu and other hilly regions of the country on Thursday. It will be celebrated in the Terai region on Friday.
    The people celebrated by smearing colours, and vermilion powder and throwing coloured water at each other while dancing and singing.
    A group of 100 Chinese photographers and photojournalists also joined the local people in playing Holi at Basantapur Durbar Square in the heart of the capital city.
    The Chinese photojournalists clicked photographs of people playing Holi in the background of medieval Malla-era temples and historical shrines, featuring Nepal's rich art, culture and architectural masterpieces.
    The programme was jointly organised by the China-Nepal Friendship Forum, the Nepal Tourism Board and the National Photo Journalists Group on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations.
    "The photojournalists from different parts of China are invited to promote Nepal's tourism by taking the colourful festival of Nepal to the global community with a view to promoting Nepal's tourism," said the organisers.
    The administration offices of all three districts (Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur) of the Kathmandu Valley have urged people to celebrate Holi in a decent and dignified manner.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)