Play safe Holi, use natural colours, say experts

Manmeet Singh Gill

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Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 21

Shopkeepers in the city have put on display the various kinds of stuff related with ‘Holi’ as the festival of colours is around the corner. However, instead of natural and safe colours like gulal, markets are flooded with chemical-based colours, harmful for skin and eyes.

Large size water guns (pichkari) with made in China tag are a special attraction for children. Medical experts advise that these colours be used with caution during Holy celebrations as they can cause skin allergies and eye rashes.

Doctors say that small children should be allowed to use only eco-friendly and natural colours. Parents can also make organic colours to help their children play safe Holi.

A wide range of colours can be prepared at home using araroot powder, hena powder, rattanjot powder, turmeric powder and annato seeds. Even different shades of different colours can be prepared using different proportions of natural ingredients.

The biggest and foremost advantage of these colours is that they do not harm skin. Even if they somehow enter a child’s mouth while playing Holi, there is no danger as all ingredients are commonly used in kitchen recipes.

Marigold flowers, amaltas, tesu, pomegranate rind, turmeric rhizome are used for making yellow shade. Beetroot slice is used for making deep pink or magenta colours. Madder and golden drop roots is used for preparing deep red colour. Henna leaves are used for making green, annatto seeds for orange and jacaranda flowers for blue colour. Even rose and dailian can be mixed to impart fragrance to colours.

To make a dry powder, these sources can be mixed in base ingredients as besan, araroot and rice powder. Two or more of these ingredients can be mixed to prepare a colour. The choice and variety of colours depends on one’s creativity and imagination. For wet solution these can be mixed in water, soaked overnight to get a deep colour.

The method of making organic colours from kitchen ingredients was studied and complied by the Department of Clothing and Textiles, Department of Home Science, Punjab Agricultural University. Child specialist, Dr Sandeep Aggarwal, said, “Children love to play Holi, but it must be ensured that colours they are using are not harmful for them. Chemical colours often get into mouth or eyes and cause complications.”