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Gulal or Abir (Bengali) or Abhir (Odia) is the traditional name given to the colored powders used for the typical Hindu rituals, in particular for the Holi festival or Dol Purnima (though commonly associated with the red color used in the festival). During this festival, which celebrates love and equality, people throw these powder solutions at each other while singing and dancing. A legend narrates that Lord Krishna complained to his mother about the darkness of his skin compared to that of his consort Radha. As a result, Krishna's mother smeared colours on Radha's face. This explains why today Holi is celebrated by throwing colours on people.
Recently, the various harmful effects and concerns for the environment (synthetic powders caused temporary wastewater pollution, too) generated awareness and encouraged people to celebrate an eco-friendly Holi. For the preparation of Herbal Gulal, a variety of safe dyes can be used, such as turmeric (Curcuma longa), Indigo (Indigofera) or annatto (Bixa orellana), which are all ingredients easily available on the market at moderate prices.
In the new natural processes to make Herbal Gulal, no salts of any heavy metal have been used and the combination of ingredients provides a powder having soft and supple touch with good sticking capacities to skin. The production profile of dry color composition is eco-friendly as no toxic ingredients are released under the preparation. In this way, it has been possible to replace synthetic colors with natural ones. Herbal Gulal can be manufactured at higher scale and people who were concerned about synthetic powders can now enjoy rituals without restrictions.
Gulal powder has always had an important role in Hindu culture and has always been used for religious purposes. Besides Holi festival, the use of coloured powders appears in other ceremonies, such as funerals. In this case, in some populations, a particular ritual occurs when the deceased is a married man. The widow puts on all the ornaments she possesses and takes leave of her husband adorning him with all her jewels. Holding a small brass plate with colored powders, she lets the men participating in the ceremony paint the face of the deceased. This ritual is associated with the one of marriage, in which the bridegroom and the bride anoint themselves with coloured powders for four days before the wedding. This ointment, indeed, is meant to prepare their bodies for conjugal life. Beyond the religious sphere, the consumption of Gulal powder is spread for different uses.
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