Make your ' Own Colours ' this ' Holi ' !

[SANJAY PETHE]

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Make Your Own Colours This Holi !!!!

This Holi, why not try something different? Instead of buying colours from the market, prepare some of the basic colours with fruits, vegetables, flowers and cereals, easily available in and around your home!

For Reds Instead of Red gulal / aabir use red sandalwood powder / raktachandan / lalchandan (Pterocarpus santalinus) which has a beautiful red colour, besides proving beneficial for the skin. Dry some red hibiscus / shoe flowers in the shade and powder it to obtain a lovely red colour. To increase the bulk, add any flour (atta or maida) to it, in proportion to the vibrancy of the colour you want to obtain. If you prefer to use wet colours, put two teaspoons of red sandalwood powder in five litres of water and boil. Dilute with 20 litres of water. Peels of red pomegranate boiled in water also yield a solution with a red hue.

Holi

Mix a pinch of lime powder (choona, with which betel / paan leaves are coated before munching) in half a cup of water and add 2 tablespoons of haldi (turmeric) powder in it. Mix it thoroughly and use after diluting with 10 litres of water. When soaked in water overnight, the flowers of Rhododendron or Buras (Rhododentron arboreum) and the Indian Coral tree (Erythrina indica) or Palita Madar/Pangri found commonly in coastal regions provide a lovely red colour. Red colour can also be obtained from the juice of tomatoes and carrots as well as by boiling the dried roots of the Indian Madder tree (manjistha) in water. This red pigment can be diluted with sufficient quantity of water to remove the stickiness.

For Greens Use mehendi / henna powder separately or mix with equal quantity of any flour (atta or maida) to produce a lovely green shade. You could also try drying and finely powdering the leaves of Gulmohur tree for a green shade. Crush the tender leaves of the wheat plant to obtain a natural safe green colour. For obtaining wet greens, mix two teaspoons of mehendi / henna in one litre of water. Stir well. Alternatively make a fine paste of leafy vegetables like spinach / palak, coriander / dhaniya, mint / pudina, etc. in water.

For Magentas Slice or grate one beet root. Soak in 1 litre of water for a wonderful magenta shade. Leave overnight in case you require a deeper shade. Dilute with water before use. Boil the peel of 10 ─15 onions in half a litre of water for getting an orangish-pink colour. Remove the peels before using, so that the smell disappears. Try adding a bit perfume to the water to ensure a pleasant smell.

For Saffrons Traditionally, the Flame of the Forest (Butea monosperma), known as Tesu, Palash or Dhak in Indian vernaculars, as provided the basic natural colour for Holi. If the flowers are soaked overnight and subsequently boiled, you can get fragrant yellowish orange coloured water. Try the same with flowers of Semul / SilkCotton, (Bombax ceiba). Soak dried stalks of Harashringar / Parijatak (Nyctanthes arbontristis) flowers in water to get a pleasant orange colour. Mix a pinch of sandalwood powder in 1 litre of water for an instant, beautiful and fragrant saffron colour. Soak a few stalks of Saffron / Kesar in 2 tablespoons of water. Leave for few hours and grind to make a fine paste. Dilute with water for desired colour strength. Though expensive, it is excellent for the skin.

For Yellows Mix two teaspoons of haldi / turmeric powder with double the quantity of besan (gram flour). Haldi and besan are extremely healthy for the skin, and are also used widely as ubtan (face and body pack) while taking a bath. You can use the ordinary haldi has several therapeutic effects. Besan can be substituted by wheat / rice / arrowroot flour or talcum powder. Flowers like Amaltas (Cassia fistula), Marigold / Gainda (Tagetus erecta), and yellow Chrysanthemums yield diverse shades of yellow. Dry the petals of these flowers in the shade, and crush them to obtain a fine powder. Take an appropriate quantity of the powder and mix it with besan or use separately. Dry the rind of the Bael fruit / Wood apple (Aegle marmelos) and grind to obtain a yellow coloured powder. For wet colours add one teaspoon of haldi / turmeric to two litres of water and stir well. Boil to increase the concentration of colour and then dilute with water.

Soak 50 marigold flowers in 2 litres of water. Boil and leave overnight a yellow coloured water.

For Blues Jacaranda flowers can be dried in the shade and ground to obtain a beautiful blue powder. The flowers bloom in summer. The blue Hibiscus (found in Kerala) can be dried and powdered. To get wet colours crush berries of the Indigo plants (a limited number of which are still grown in Bengal and Bihar) and add to water for desired colour strength. In some Indigo species the leaves when boiled in water yield a rich blue. source:indiaheritage

also read more article in Marathi >
http://maharashtratimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1700484.cms
and
http://maharashtratimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1709551.cms

Dhanywaad, Aapla

> SANJAY PETHE

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