Prabhat Pheri, DJ music to mark Holi at high-rises
Times of India | 25 March 2024
Kolkata: Residents of several housing complexes and gated communities across the city have geared up to celebrate Holi with Prabhat Pheri, smearing of abir, cultural performances, DJ nights and food stalls. Holika Dahan, also called Nerapora, on Sunday night set the ball rolling for celebrations in several of Kolkata’s gated communities.
Around 1,000 residents of South City will participate in the celebrations on Monday.Manoj Gupta, a South City resident, said, “Around 8.30 am on Monday, we will assemble for the Prabhat Pheri, to be done in the Santiniketan style. It will start from a temple on our campus and we will go around the premises singing. Then we will play Holi with flower petals. A stage has been put up for cultural performances and about seven food stalls have also come up. We use only herbal colours.”
The residents of 877 flats at New Town Heights will celebrate the festival in a bigger way this year. “Around 8 am, we will celebrate Basanta Utsav, followed by rain dance and playing with herbal colours. The added attraction will be DJ music,” said Sameer Agarwal, president of New Town Heights Apartment Owners’ Association.
About 50 children, along with elders, will set the celebratory mood with Prabhat Pheri at Behala’s Diamond City West complex. “We started the Prabhat Pheri on Holi from last year. About 1,500 residents of our complex will be part of the celebrations. The special attraction this time will be rain shower, apart from cultural programmes, for which a stage has been set up,” said Deepak Agarwal, committee member, Diamond City West Apartment Owners’ Association.
At Urban Sabujayan complex near Kalikapur, around 500 residents are likely to celebrate Holi together. Chayan Kumar Saha, secretary of Jagatipota Urban Sabujayan Puja and Cultural Association, said, “The participants of Prabhat Pheri will wear yellow attire and we will play with herbal abir. Apart from food stalls, the special attraction is DJ night, which will start at 10.30 pm.”
Around 300 families living in Devaloke Sonar City, Kamalgazi, are set to celebrate Holi together for the first time. “In the first phase, about 438 flats were handed over to us last year. So, this is our first Holi celebration as residents of this complex. About 50 women from the complex are organizing Basanta Utsav. They also trained kids for cultural events. We will have six food stalls,” said Tonmoy Chatterjee, cultural secretary of the housing complex.