06/03/2026
🌼🙏🏻🌸In Karauli the Holi festivities begin from Basant Panchami, or the festival of spring, as the instruments of Holi sangeet, the dhap and the harmonium are worshipped commencing the two months of Hori songs culminating with the actual festival of Holi.
Hori, or the devotional songs of Holi range in themes from the divine mischief of Lord Krishna, the love between Radha and Krishna and the very act of creation itself. The Hori songs are in Braj bhasha (in fact the term Hori-with the lilting burr transforming the ‘l to ‘r’ is part of Braj dialect) and are sung in Raag Kaafi. Interestingly two famous Maharajas of Karauli were also composers of holi bhajans. Raja Chandrasen composed several well-known bhajans under the pen name of Chandra Sakhi- and was revered as a Bhakti saint. More recently, in the early 1900s, Maharaja Bhanwar pal and his guru Maujnath ji composed a compilation of verses called Bhanwaresh vaani celebrating Nirguna philosophy. 🌺🙏🏻🌸🌼.
